The Parable of the Sower
Matthew 13:1-9,18-23
13 1That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. 2 And great crowds gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach. 3 And he told them many things in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. 5 Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, 6 but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away. 7 Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. 8 Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9 He who has ears, let him hear.”
18 “Hear then the parable of the sower: 19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path. 20 As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, 21 yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away. 22 As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. 23 As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”
Matthew 13 is full of parables
The parable of the sower
The parable of the wheat and the tares
The parable of the mustard seed
The parable of the leaven
The parable of the hidden treasure
The parable of the pearl of great price
The parable of the dragnet
The context of this entire chapter is that of:
PLANTING/SOWING
HARVESTING/REAPING
Reaping what is sown is a “Kingdom Law”
Here – you can CHOOSE to break the laws and sometimes not suffer the repercussions but, you don’t have the authority to break the laws of the kingdom
Here is what the word says about it:
Galatians 6:7 (ESV)
7 Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.
- This is a spiritual law that cannot be escaped:
You will reap the benefits of what you've been sowing
Your fruit is on the way!
Today we want to hone in on the Parable of the Sower
(A very simple) key statement is:
For the Word to work in my life
The Lord has to work in my heart.
HEART CONDITION AFFECTS MY RESPONSIVENESS TO THE GOSPEL
Jesus taught that there were some challenges to the Word taking its full effect in a life:
As disciples, we want to REMOVE the challenges that the Word has to overcome to make me more like Jesus
Challenge 1: They fell along the path
“A sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them.
Jesus Explained it:
19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path.
The problem here was the vulnerability of the seeds
Luke's gospel says that these seeds were trampled - walked on -
They were stepped on
All of the Gospels affirmed that they became bird-seed
The whole point of the matter is that we must guard the places that we want the Word of God to work in our lives
If you give the Word LESS priority than it deserves - it will yield LESS results than it should
Is the Word of God your "Go-To" or is it your "IF I HAVE TO"?
You can't walk on it all week and expect it to grow fruit in your life on Sunday
Challenge 2: The seed fell on the rocks
5 Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, 6 but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away.
Here's how Jesus explained it:
20 As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, 21 yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away.
If you are going to see the Word of God come to fruition in your life - it will take commitment.
I want God to put a Holy stubbornness in me -
A Spirit that is determined not to quit
Some are constantly starting over, because they are constantly quitting.
That is not the will of God!
James 1:8 A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.
Challenge 3: The seed fell among the thorns
7 Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them.
Jesus taught:
22 As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful
This!
We live in a world full of distractions
The reason that many people are getting no traction in their journey with Christ is because they are distracted with EVERYTHING else.
When something in your life is consistently trying to choke the Word of God out of your life, you need to very seriously consider make a drastic change in that area.
The answer is not to find a compartmentalized area to put your "seed" in, the answer is to clean out the thorns and distractions!
In Conclusion:
23 As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”
Here's what we believe:
We believe that there is good soil at Hub City Church.
We believe that some of you have spent some time this week preparing for the Word of God to bring fruit in your life.
We celebrate that today, because for those who have prepared the soil, when the Word is sown into your life, it brings fruit. IT BRINGS FRUIT!
