Sowing the Seeds of the Kingdom

Good morning. It's a joy to worship with you and to gather with you in the name of Jesus.

And now we have just finished our sermon series in the book of Exodus.

And today we're going to be in the book of Mark chapter 4.

Mark 4 · chapter mention

So if you have a Bible, please open your Bibles to Mark chapter 4.

Mark 4 · chapter mention

If you don't have a Bible, please raise your hand.

We'd love to bring you a copy that you can use.

And you can keep that copy as well and take it home with you.

Let me pray for the reading and preaching of God's word.

Father, I acknowledge that I am just a messenger.

You are the author.

Father, so help me to just be faithful to the message you entrusted to me to proclaim this morning.

And give us, as a whole church, ears to hear.

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of all of our hearts be pleasing in your sight.

O Lord, our rock and redeemer.

In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

If you are willing and able, please stand for the reading of God's word from Mark 4.

I'm just going to read to verse 29 here.

Again, Jesus began to teach beside the sea.

And a very large crowd gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat in it on the sea.

And the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land.

And he was teaching them many things in parables.

And in his teaching, he said to them, listen.

Behold, a sower went out to sow.

And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it.

Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil.

And immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil.

And when the sun rose, it was scorched.

And since it had no root, it withered away.

Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain.

And other seeds fell into good soil and produced grain, growing up and increasing and yielding

thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.

And he said, he who has ears to hear, let him hear.

And when he was alone, those around him, with the twelve, asked him about the parables.

And he said to them, to you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God.

But for those outside, everything is in parables, so that they may indeed see but not perceive,

and may indeed hear but not understand, lest they should turn and be forgiven.

And he said to them, do you not understand this parable?

How then will you understand all the parables?

The sower sows the word.

And these are the ones along the path where the word is sown.

When they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them.

And these are the ones sown on rocky ground, the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately

receive it with joy.

And they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while.

Then when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away.

And others are the ones sown among thorns.

They are those who hear the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches

and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.

But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit,

thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.

And he said to them,

Is a lamp brought in to be put under a basket or under a bed and not on a stand?

For nothing is hidden except to be made manifest, nor is anything secret except to come to light.

If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.

And he said to them,

Pay attention to what you hear.

With the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and still more will be added to you.

For to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.

And he said,

The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground.

He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows.

He knows not how.

The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.

But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.

This is God's holy and authoritative word.

You may be seated this time.

Just to give you a little forecast of where we are and where we're headed.

As I mentioned, we just concluded our series in the book of Exodus, took us about a year.

And next, in the fall, we're going to do a new sermon series in the book of Revelation.

In the intervening weeks, in the month of August, we're going to have a short sermon series on Psalms of Lament.

Designed to really help people who are suffering and struggling and in pain,

how to go to God in that pain and draw closer to Him as opposed to drawing away from Him.

But before that, we start that mini-series.

Today and next Sunday, we're going to hone in on our mission as a local church.

In September, it will be seven years since the public launch of our church, if I'm counting the years correctly.

That's seven years of trying to accomplish our mission, which is to glorify God by making disciples of Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Why do we exist as a church?

To glorify, not ourselves, but God.

And many of you are probably more familiar with our vision statement that Jen mentioned during the announcement,

because it's very memorable, loving God, loving one another, and loving our neighbors.

If we are fulfilling our mission faithfully, that's what it's going to look like, a cascade of love, loving God, one another, and others.

There are many ways, though, however, we can love God and love one another and love our neighbors.

But the primary way that a local church is supposed to do that, our mission is to glorify God by making disciples of Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Everything we do as a church, every ministry team, every members meeting, every song we sing, every sermon preached,

has that as its goal, to glorify God by making disciples of Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit.

But this is not an easy or smooth work, as many of you know.

Many of you have shared the gospel with non-Christians, but have been repeatedly disappointed by rejection.

Sometimes people you disciple and pour out to and invest in the most are the ones who make poor decisions that harm their relationship with God and the church.

And in worst cases, those who seem to have believed in Christ at first renounce their faith altogether and fall away, which could be discouraging.

These realities could tempt us to wonder, is the mission worth it?

Are we even doing this right?

And if so, then why is this happening?

And so my prayer and hope for you this morning and next week is that we, as a church, would be re-energized for and re-focused on our God-given mission.

And that's why we're in Mark 4, 1 to 29 today.

And this passage reminds us that we should heed the word of Christ and sow it liberally, trusting that God grows it, even though we know not how.

That's the main point of this passage.

And we're going to first talk about how we heed the word, and then we sow the word, but then how God grows the word.

Because by this point of Jesus' ministry, he is regularly gathering large crowds wherever he goes.

He preaches on the Sea of Galilee using a boat as a flowing pulpit.

This helps his voice to carry a little further.

It amplifies it a little bit so that more people on the shore can hear.

Some Israeli scientists have actually run tests to test the acoustics and the capacity of this area, known as the Bay of Parables.

And they have concluded that easily the sound travels to thousands of people.

And so here it says in verse 2 that Jesus was teaching them many things in parables.

The word parable comes from a Greek word that means to place next to something.

It's a kind of analogy or an object lesson that's put next to an idea in order to explain it and illustrate it.

But interestingly, Jesus here employs parables also to confound people.

And we're going to talk about that some more.

The parable that Jesus tells us in verses 3 to 9 is the famous parable that probably many of you have heard of already called the parable of the seed.

Also variously called the parable of the soils or the parable of the sower.

Each of those titles highlight an aspect of this parable that's important.

A sower goes out to sow seeds.

Some fall along the path and some birds come and peck at it and devour it.

Other seeds fall on rocky ground and because there's such shallow depth of soil, it quickly finishes growing roots and then it sprouts up quickly.

But because of the lack of depth of soil, it doesn't get enough water and as soon as the sun starts to shine on it, it withers away.

And then there's another kind that falls among thorns.

It grows okay, but as soon as it starts to grow, it gets choked up by the thorns around it and is unable to produce any fruit.

And still other seeds fall into good soil which produce a bountiful harvest.

We don't have to come up with our own allegorization or wreck our brains trying to figure out what this parable means

because Jesus tells us exactly what it means in verses 14 to 20.

And the first thing that he tells us about it is very important.

He tells us what the seed is.

He says in verse 14,

The sower sows the word.

Eight times in verses 14 to 20, we see the word word

because it's the only seed.

Well then what is the word?

As Mark 7, 13 tells us, it's the word of God.

The divinely inspired word of God, but even more specifically,

the good news of Jesus Christ or the gospel of Jesus Christ,

as it says in Mark 1, 14 and Mark 1, 1.

The gospel of God, the word of God, the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Because everything in the written scriptures point to and is fulfilled by Jesus,

the person and work of Jesus Christ, the good news, the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The good news of Jesus Christ is the news that the kingdom of God has come with the coming of Jesus.

And because he has lived a perfect life, he has died for our sin and has been raised victoriously from the dead,

those who trust in him, those who repent of their sins and believe in him,

can enter the kingdom of God, which is the reign of God, the rule of God,

where all his subjects belong.

So how can people who are dead in their trespasses and sins be made alive again?

How can those who are spiritually blind be made to see again?

How can those people who are condemned as guilty because of their sin,

justly so, be declared innocent or justified?

The answer is in Jesus, by believing the word of Christ, the gospel of Jesus Christ.

There is no other seed that produces eternal fruit in the lives of men and women than the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Brothers and sisters, do you really believe this?

There are many other things that people would have us believe could save people,

could really help people, but the seed is not our own good works.

The seed is not political or social activism.

The seed is not even community.

The seed is not mindfulness or meditation.

The seed is not the sacraments.

The seed is not education.

The seed is not kindness.

There's only one seed that saves people into eternal life,

and that seed is the gospel of Jesus Christ.

As spiritual farmers, then, what should we be sowing?

What should our ministries and activities revolve around?

There's only one thing for us to do but to sow the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Jesus said in John 14, 6,

I am the way and the truth and the life,

and no one comes to the Father except through me.

There are not many ways to get to God.

There is only one way.

There is salvation in no one else,

for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.

People of this world call on many different gods.

People of this world call on many different religions.

People call on many different names to save them,

but there's only one name by which we must be saved,

and that is the name of Jesus Christ.

So that's the first thing that Jesus tells us about this parable.

So don't believe it when someone tells you they found the key.

They found the solution.

A new method, a new teaching for a successful church.

There's no other seed.

The same seed that Christians have been planting for thousands of years,

it's the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Secondly, Jesus tells us what the various types of soil represent,

namely people and their varying degrees of receptivity to the gospel.

The first set of seeds are sown along the path that get consumed by the birds.

The birds represent Satan and his evil minions, the demons,

and these people hear the gospel,

but Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown to them.

If you have ever gone birding with a bag of millet or sunflower seeds,

you know how quickly birds can gobble up those seeds.

You scatter some on the ground and pitter-patter there right there to take it away.

You've met these kinds of people before.

You share the gospel with them,

and it doesn't seem to stick at all.

It appears to go in one ear and out the other because Satan takes it away.

Because as it says in 2 Corinthians 4.4,

the God of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers

to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ.

The second set of seeds are sown on rocky ground,

a shallow soil with hard rock underneath where the seeds spring up quickly

but wither away as quickly as when it came up as soon as the sun starts shining on it.

These are the people who hear the word and immediately receive it with joy,

however, because they have no root in themselves.

When tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word,

they immediately fall away.

You probably also know these kinds of people.

These are the bogus Christians

who seeming conversions were not genuine.

Like a seed planted on shallow, rocky soil that sprouts up quickly,

these people initially received the gospel joyfully,

which can be very exciting for us as we share the gospel with them

and minister to them,

but that soon leads to disappointment.

And we have known the pain of this disappointment as a church

because they never developed roots of faith.

As soon as tribulation or persecution arises,

they fall away.

They lack deep conviction.

They follow Christ only insofar as it is convenient

and comfortable to do so.

When the heat of withering criticism comes,

when they are judged,

when they are treated unfairly because of their faith in Christ,

they do not persevere,

but they deny the faith.

The third set of seeds sown among thorns.

This soil lets the seed grow some,

at least for a little while,

but as they grow,

the thorns choke the plants

so that they yield no grain.

These are people who hear the word

and appear on the surface at least to believe it,

but Jesus explains the cares of the world

and the deceitfulness of riches

and the desires for other things

enter in and choke the word

and it proves unfruitful.

So these are fruitless Christians.

Every healthy tree bears good fruit

and every tree that does not bear good fruit

is cut down and thrown into the fire,

as Jesus says in Matthew 7.

We recognize true Christians by their fruits.

So then the third type of soil

represents people who are Christians in name only.

So not true Christians,

but nominal Christians.

Christians who are in name only and not in reality.

Instead of having heavenly purposes

and heavenly priorities

and eternal perspectives,

they are preoccupied with the cares of this world,

the anxieties of this world that is fading away.

More than wanting to please God,

they desire health and wealth and success.

They are deceived by the comfort and status

that money offers

and their lives are characterized

by the idolatry of covetousness.

The first three types of soil are,

they're all inhospitable to the seed of the gospel

and they produce no harvest.

But the fourth type is the good soil

that produces a bumper crop,

which is what farmers call

an unusually abundant harvest.

A tenfold harvest in those days in Palestine

was considered to be abundant.

But this is a supernatural harvest.

It's 30-fold and 60-fold and 100-fold.

In Genesis 26-12,

Isaac sows in the land of Gerar

and that same year reaps a hundredfold.

And this is explained as a sign of divine blessing

because it says the Lord blessed him.

So likewise,

this hundredfold gospel harvest

is not something that we bring about

in our own strength,

but that it's a sign that God himself is at work

blessing the proclamation of his word.

The four different types of soil

are differentiated by the varying levels

of humble, obedient receptivity to the gospel.

That's why Jesus begins the parable in verse three

with this emphatic command,

listen.

That's why the verb listen or hear

is a recurring key word in this passage.

The word hear occurs 10 times in this passage.

Again and again,

this passage speaks of hearing the word

and twice Jesus says,

if anyone has ears to hear,

let him hear.

What does that mean?

Jesus is not merely saying

anyone who has ears could hear him.

He's saying anyone who has ears to hear,

anyone who is not merely gonna hear it,

but actually listen to him,

actually heed his word

and accept his word.

Those who have ears to hear it,

those who have ears to hear

and perceive it and understand it

and believe it.

Those are the people who are good soil,

who hear the word and accept it

and bear fruit.

People who heed the word.

Later in verse 24 to 25,

Jesus reiterates this.

He says,

pay attention to what you hear.

With the measure you use,

it will be measured to you

and still more will be added to you.

For to the one who has,

more will be given.

And from the one who has not,

even what he has will be taken away.

In other words,

if you pay attention

and humbly hear the gospel of Jesus Christ

and accept the grace of God given to you,

offered to you in Jesus Christ,

then even more grace will be given to you

to understand more of God,

to know more of him

and to love and obey him.

But if you don't pay attention

and you reject the gospel,

even the little truth

that you are exposed to

will recede and fade

and will soon be a distant memory.

All of this hinges on how

you heed the word of Christ.

This is why when it comes

to the first three kinds of soil,

when the verb here is used,

in the Greek,

it uses the aorist tense,

which refers to a punctiliar

just a thing that you do,

something that happens

at a particular point of time

and is done.

Something that happens once

in an instant.

It's like a snapshot,

like a photo.

However, when it comes

to the fourth soil,

the good soil,

that same verb is used

in the present tense

to indicate ongoing action,

continual listening,

paying attention,

and trusting.

Jesus is here distinguishing

those who hear

in a casual and superficial way

from those who heed his word.

So we have to heed

the word of Christ.

So what voices

or words

are you paying attention to?

Are you listening

to the voice of tribulation

or persecution

of this world?

Christianity is

an irrational,

regressive religion

that was invented

by people

to oppress

and control people.

Christians are dangerous bigots

that should be marginalized,

maybe even criminalized.

Are you withering

under the heat

of the slander

of this world?

Don't pay any heat

to that.

Instead,

pay heat

to the word

of Christ.

Or are you listening

to the deceitful voice

of riches

and the desires

for other things,

the cares

of this world?

You will only be happy

and fulfilled

if you make

this much money,

if you have

these kinds of jobs,

if you buy

these brands

and wear

these clothes,

and if you live

in these kinds

of houses,

and if you date

or marry

that kind of man

or that kind of woman.

Is that the voice

you're listening to?

Sacrifice?

Submission?

Forget about it.

Safety and comfort

and experiencing pleasure

should be the highest

name of life.

Is that the voice

you're listening to?

Don't pay any heat

to that.

Pay attention

to the word

of Christ.

Repent

and believe

in Jesus Christ

for your salvation

because the kingdom

of God

has come.

Your eternal

future

depends on it.

nowadays

my youngest

daughter

has become aware

that

even when her dad

is in the same room

as her

and I'm not wearing

headphones

and my ears are open

and sometimes

when she's speaking

to me

that I'm actually

still not listening

to her

I tend to get

really focused

if I'm doing something

and I'm focused

in it

like I will not

hear her.

Well,

that's not true.

I will hear her

but it's like

not registering

and so she's

kind of learned

to get me

out of that zone

and so she now says

Dad,

you're not listening

to me

and at which point

I perk up

and then I start

actually listening

to her

because she's right

I wasn't listening

to her.

I think

some of us here

are probably hearing

the gospel

but not really

hearing it.

Not really

paying attention

and I implore you

I say this

earnestly

because

all four of these soils

will probably be

in this room.

Are you paying attention?

Are you heeding

the word of Christ

that alone

leads you to Jesus

who saves you?

What word

are you listening to?

Is this word

of Christ

loud and clear

in your ears

or is it a faint

static in the background

while the voices

of this world

are blaring

in your ears?

tune in

to the word

of Christ

turn it up

several notches

let the words

of this world

recede

into the background

tune that out

your fruitfulness

as a Christian

depends on it.

While there is

a strong emphasis

here in this chapter

on human responsibility

how we must

heed the gospel

there's also

a strong emphasis

here on divine

sovereignty

God

he's here

dividing the population

and choosing

his own people

those who belong

to him

note how Jesus

tells the parable

in verses 3 to 9

and then explains it

in verses 13 to 20

which leaves

verses 10 to 12

right in the middle

this is a literary device

that people have coined

the Markan sandwich

because Mark

is so fond of it

he uses it often

the meat

as in sandwiches

is the most important part

that's

what gives it flavor

I mean bread's good too

but that's

this is the most important part

surrounded by two

matching sandwich buns

which surround

and bring attention

to what's in the middle

that's the function

of this literary device

and what is in the middle

is this

verses 10 to 12

and when Jesus

was alone

those around him

with the 12

asked him about

the parables

and he said to them

to you

has been given

the secret

of the kingdom of God

but for those outside

everything is in parables

so that

they may indeed see

but not perceive

and may indeed hear

but not understand

lest they should turn

and be forgiven

did I read that correctly?

let that sink in

for a moment

I don't always succeed

in this

but as a preacher

I'm at least trying

to speak as plainly

as possible

every time I speak

I try to avoid

maybe

theological jargon

that might be

not familiar to people

and if I do use them

I try to explain it

and that's what

we would expect

Jesus to do

I mean Jesus

don't you love people

and didn't you come

to save the world

that God so loved the world

he sent his only son

so shouldn't you

make everybody

be able to understand you

as easily

and plainly as possible

that's what we expect

Jesus to do

but no

that's not what he does

to those who are

around him

with the twelve

Jesus speaks plainly

and not in parables

because to them

has been given

the secret

of the kingdom of God

who gave them

this secret

it doesn't tell us

this is what the Bible

grammarians call

the divine passive

when there's a passive verb

but there's no subject

the subject

is

the assumed subject

is God

God is the one

who gives them

this secret

of the kingdom

and so to them

Jesus speaks plainly

and explains the meaning

of the parables

however to those

who are on the outside

Jesus speaks in riddles

he speaks in parables

so that they would

see without perceiving

so that they would

hear without

understanding

because he doesn't

he

less they

turn and be forgiven

this is a pronouncement

of God's judgment

the quote is taken

from Isaiah 6-9

when prophet Isaiah

is commissioned

by God

to go

and preach

preach repentance

but when God

tells Isaiah

to go

he says

when you preach

these people

will listen to you

and repent

no

he tells them

go and preach

to them

they will not

repent

they will not

listen to you

so your preaching

will make them

more blind

more hardened

it's a confirmation

of God's judgment

theologian James Edwards

makes the insightful comment

that Jesus' parables

in the gospel of Mark

and in the other

synoptic gospels

function

like the pillar

of fire and cloud

in the book of Exodus

that separated

the Israelites

from the Egyptians

at the crossing

of the Red Sea

in Exodus 14

on the one hand

that pillar of cloud

served to guide

the Israelites

but on the other hand

it served to confuse

and impede

the Egyptians

it lights the way

for the Israelites

it darkens the way

for the Egyptians

likewise

Jesus' parables

reveal the will of God

to his people

but conceal

it from those

who do not belong

to him

this shows

that the fruitfulness

of the gospel seed

the harvest

the salvation

of the hearer

is ultimately

the sovereign work

of God

over which we have

no control

as Jesus says

in John 9

39

for judgment

I came into this world

that those who do not

see may see

and those who see

may become blind

many people

who thought

they were

on the inside

the Pharisees

and the scribes

the legalists

people who are pursuing

God with works

righteousness

they think

that they are in

but they are actually out

they thought

they saw

but they are actually

blind

and then many

who are

were outcasts

many who thought

they were on the outside

looking in

become part of

this inner circle

but for us

as hearers

of the word

how can we know

what kind of soil

we ourselves are

that's not

our prerogative

to know

but what we can do

is heed

the gospel

because it's the gospel

that draws

the line

in the sand

note again

the contrast

between the very

large crowd

that's what he said

in verse 1

very large crowd

gathered about Jesus

and then now

the much smaller

inner circle

that remains

in verse 10

when Jesus was alone

there around him

with the 12

those around him

with the 12

asked him

about the parables

Jesus was never

in the gospel

was giddy

about the very

large crowd

that was gathering

around him

and following him

around

he wasn't trying

to speak

on subjects

that will draw

a crowd

or appease them

or appeal to them

and keep them engaged

no he spoke

in parables

that confused them

in order to draw

a distinction

between the crowd

and the elect

the disciples

so don't be discouraged

if large crowds

are not flocking

to us

to hear the message

of the gospel

Jesus is often seen

whittling down the crowds

throughout his ministry

Jesus rebukes the crowd

following him

in John 6 26

telling them

that they are not

actually seeking him

but rather they've come

because they had

their fill of the loaves

because Jesus fed them

with the miracle

by multiplying

the five loaves

of bread

and two fish

to feed 5,000

and then after telling

them that

he tells them further

that he is the bread

of heaven

that came down

from heaven

and that they need

to eat his body

and drink his blood

in order to have

eternal life

that's not a very

popular message

just imagining it

thinking about it

makes you want to

wretch

Jesus spoke in that way

intentionally

so that he says

in John 6 66 to 68

after this

many of his disciples

turned back

and no longer

walked with him

so Jesus said

to the twelve

do you want

to go away

as well

Simon Peter answered

them

Lord to whom

shall we go

you have the words

of eternal life

there is the inner circle

those who recognize

and hear

and accept

the word

of Christ

then there are

outsiders who don't

who only follow

Jesus casually

to satisfy

their curiosity

it says

a few verses

before that

in John 6 64

for Jesus

knew

from the beginning

who those

were

who did not

believe

and who it

was

who would

betray him

so he knew

who would

believe

and he knew

who those

who would

not believe

already from

the beginning

of Christ

so will you

heed

the word

of Christ

will you

remain

with Jesus

and believe

in his word

will you

follow him

even when

the crowd

is dispersed

when following

Jesus is no

longer popular

when tribulations

and persecutions

arise

will you

renounce

the cares

of this world

the deceitfulness

of riches

and the desires

for other things

in order to

follow Jesus

that's how you

know whether

you are in

or out

that you are

heeding

the gospel

of Jesus

Christ

so this

parable teaches

us about

the seed

and about

the soils

it also has

something

teaches about

the sower

though it

doesn't actually

say much

about him

first and

foremost

the ultimate

sower here

is Jesus

at the beginning

of Jesus

ministry

in Mark

138

he spoke

of the

mandate

that the

father

had given

him

to preach

the gospel

saying

let us

go on

to the

next

town

that I

may

preach

there

also

for

that

is

why

I

came

out

Jesus

came

out

to preach

the gospel

and that

exact same

verb is used

at the beginning

of this

parable

in verse

3

behold a

sower

went

out

to sow

Jesus

is the

sower

who came

down

from heaven

from the

presence

of the

father

to

sow

the seed

of the

gospel

more

more

because

he

is

his

work

his

personal

work

is

the

gospel

more

over

in

the

old

testament

passages

like

Isaiah

9

3

and

Psalm

126

6

the

harvest

is a

metaphor

for the

in

breaking

of the

kingdom

of God

the

inauguration

the

beginning

of the

kingdom

of God

so

this

bumper

crop

of

hundred

fold

harvest

is a

sure

sign

that

the

kingdom

of

God

is

now

here

because

Jesus

has

come

so

Jesus

says

of

course

you

wouldn't

light

a

lamp

whose

purpose

it is

to

give

light

and

dispel

the

darkness

you

would

not

put

it

under

a

basket

or

under

a

bed

you

put

it

on

a

stand

and

the

lamp

is

frequently

used

as

a

metaphor

in

scripture

of

God

and

of

his

word

and

here

actually

in

the

original

Greek

there

is

a

definite

article

so

it

doesn't

say

it's

of

when

a

lamp

is

brought

in

it

says

the

lamp

it's

referring

to

the

lamp

of

Jesus

Christ

the

light

of

the

world

who

said

I

am

the

light

of

the

world

whoever

follows

me

will

not

walk

in

darkness

but

will

have

the

light

of

life

so

because

God

the

prime

sower

has

come

in

Jesus

Christ

the

kingdom

of

God

is

now

here

and

we

can't

expect

the

harvest

so

he

is

the

first

sower

the

prime

sower

but

as

those

who

follow

in

the

footsteps

of

this

prime

sower

there

is

a

lesson

for

us

here

as

well

since

we

are

commanded

to

sow

the

gospel

seed

all

around

us

we

can

see

this

clearly

in

the

parable

of

the

growing

seed

in

verses

26

to

28

when

the

farmer

who

sows

is

clearly

not

Jesus

because

it

says

that

this

sower

knows

not

how

the

seed

grows

that

can't

be

Jesus

because

Jesus

knows

everything

he

knows

exactly

how

the

seeds

grow

he

already

knows

beforehand

which

seeds

will

grow

and

which

seeds

will

not

grow

so

in

that

parable

clearly

the

sower

is

us

the

followers

of

Jesus

so

then

what

can

we

learn

as

sowers

of

the

gospel

first

there

is

note

that

there

is

no

discussion

of

how

to

become

a

better

sower

the

harvest

the

fruitfulness

of the

crop

does

not

depend

on

the

intelligence

or

the

creativity

or

the

eloquence

of

the

sower

it

depends

on

the

receptivity

of

the

soil

and

even

more

ultimately

on

the

sovereignty

of

the

God

who

gives

the

growth

so

we

should

not

get

insecure

or

worried

when

some

seeds

are

plucked

away

by

birds

or

withered

away

by

the

heat

or

choked

out

by

the

thorns

that

does

not

mean

that

we

should

go

back

to

the

drawing

board

and

genetically

modify

the

seed

so

that

it's

a

little

bit

more

fruitful

so

it

has

better

yield

no

there's

nothing

wrong

with

the

seed

and

we

should

expect

rejection

we

should

expect

disappointment

because

Jesus

tells

us

here

that

we

will

get

all

these

responses

to

the

proclamation

of the

gospel

the

goal

isn't

to

become

more

successful

sowers

who

get

a

higher

percentage

yield

rate

no

the

goal

is

to

be

faithful

sowers

sowing

the

same

seed

over

and

over

again

year

after

year

generation

after

generation

regardless

of the

response

lack

of

conversions

is

not

failed

evangelism

because

the

conversions

are not

up to

us

lack

of

gospel

conversations

is

failed

evangelism

we

only

fail

when

we

don't

share

the

gospel

at

all

so

don't

be

afraid

of

the

responses

don't

be

discouraged

that

some

people

fall

away

these

things

happen

but

you

must

not

be

discouraged

because

you

have

to

keep

sowing

let

us

not

grow

weary

of

doing

good

for

in

due

season

we

will

reap

if

we

do

not

give

up

so

we

should

be

faithful

sowers

and

we

should

also

be

liberal

sowers

I

don't

mean

that

politically

but

be

generous

sowers

lavish

sowers

an

aspect

of

this

parable

that

is

often

missed

is

that

this

farmer

is

downright

indiscriminate

in his

sowing

imagine

you're

a

farmer

what

kind

of

a

farmer

sows

precious

seeds

on

paths

where

it

gets

trampled

and

birds

will

come

and

pluck

away

the

seed

there's

like

no

soil

there

at

all

what

kind

of

a

farmer

sows

seeds

on

rocky

ground

hey

that

looks

like

a

great

place

to

scatter

my

seed

or

among

thorns

these

thorns

will

assist

my

plants

to

grow

fruitful

no

sensible

farmer

does

that

but

what

does

this

show

it

reflects

the

lavish

generosity

of

God

God

knows

he

is

predestined

he

knows

who

will

believe

he

knows

who

will

not

believe

and

yet

and

yet

the

invitation

is

universal

sow

seeds

everywhere

on

rocks

among

thorns

and

even

on

the

streets

it's

not

our

prerogative

to know

what

kinds

of

soils

people

are

it's

not

our

place

to

presume

who

is

open

or

receptive

to

the

gospel

or

not

our

role

is

to

simply

scatter

the

seeds

so

do

it

indiscriminately

at

the

cafe

on

the

plane

in

your

neighborhood

back

at

your

parents

house

wherever

you

go

scatter

the

seed

reflect

the

generosity

of

God

scatter

it

hoping

that

somewhere

you

will

find

good

soil

where

it

will

yield

that

abundant

harvest

trusting

that

ultimately

God's

the

one

who

gives

the

growth

and

that

brings

us

to

my

final

point

God

grows

the

word

read

verses

26

to

29

and

he

said

the

kingdom

of

God

is as

if

a

man

just

scatter

seed

on

the

ground

he

sleeps

and

rises

night

and

day

and

the

seed

sprouts