February 17, 2013
Evening Service

Mat 13:1-9  In that day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the seaside.  (2)  And great crowds were gathered to Him, so that He went into a boat and sat. And all the crowd stood on the shore.  (3)  And He spoke many things to them in parables, saying, Behold, the sower went out to sow.  (4)  And as he sowed, some seeds fell by the wayside, and the birds came and devoured them.  (5)  Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth. And they sprang up immediately, because they had no deepness of earth.  (6)  And the sun rising, they were scorched, and because they had no root, they withered away.  (7)  And some fell among thorns. And the thorns sprung up and choked them.  (8)  And some fell on the good ground and yielded fruit, indeed one a hundredfold, and one sixty, and one thirty.  (9)  He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

 

 

We will look at this from the perspective of the church and see what we can learn from each type of soil.

 

Mat 13:18-19  Therefore hear the parable of the sower.  (19)  When anyone hears the Word of the kingdom and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and catches away that which was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown by the wayside.

 

The seed by the wayside or on the pathway teaches us that:

·         God is faithful to sow seed to everyone and give them opportunity to accept His salvation.

Mat 11:28-30 Come to Me all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  (29)  Take My yoke on you and learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you shall find rest to your souls.  (30)  For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.

·         Everyone who hears will not accept the invitation.

Action on our part:

·         Be faithful to sow in all ground, even if it doesn’t look fertile to us.

·         Do not be discouraged by rejection.

·         Be very aware that we have an enemy at work against us.

 

20)  But that which was sown on the stony places is this: he who hears the Word and immediately receives it with joy.  (21)  But he has no root in himself, and is temporary. For when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the Word, he immediately stumbles

 

The seed on rocky ground teaches us that:

·         It is dangerous to take God’s Word lightly.  We cannot pick and choose what we want to accept or want to ignore.

Action to be taken:

·         We must grow and dig our roots deep within the love of God

Eph 3:14-19  For this cause I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,  (15)  of whom the whole family in Heaven and earth is named,  (16)  that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man;  (17)  that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love,  (18)  may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth and length and depth and height,  (19)  and to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge, that you might be filled with all the fullness of God.

·         We must encourage our new converts to grow and not be satisfied at simply accepting the salvation message.

·         We cannot hide the fact that this is not an easy road to walk, there will be persecution, trials and troubles, but don’t ever give up.

 

  (22)  And that sown into the thorns is this: he who hears the Word; and the anxiety of this world, and the deceit of riches, choke the Word, and he becomes unfruitful.  (23) 

 

The seed spread among thorns teaches us that:

·         The acceptance of salvation must come with the surrender of our heart.  We can have no other masters but Christ.

Mat 6:24 No one can serve two masters. For either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will hold to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.

Action we must take:

·         Teach and encourage everyone to seek God first and allow Him to take care of the rest.

Mat 6:33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you.

·         We live in a very fast pace society and it takes effort to include time for God in it.  Our kids have so many opportunities for activities.  We have our hobbies, careers and interests to pursue.  Where does God fit?

 

 (23)  But that sown on the good ground is this: he who hears the Word and understands; who also bears fruit and produces one truly a hundredfold; and one sixty; and one thirty.

 

The seed that falls upon fertile soil teaches us that:

·         It is the few that allow God to take deep root in their lives.  It is only those who totally surrender their hearts to Him that can be fruitful.

Rom 2:13 For it is not the hearers of the Law who are just before God, but the doers of the Law will be justified.

Action to be taken:

·         We must take the attitude Paul described to the Corinthians.

1Co 9:24 Do you not know that those running in a race all run, but one receives the prize? So run, that you may obtain.

·         Run to win.  We are in a marathon, not a sprint.  Don’t burn out on the first lap.  It is to the overcomer that all the promises have been made.

 

Father help us to learn as a church and an individual to apply these truths so we may be drawn closer to you and that we may play a part in changing someone’s soil from unfruitful to fruitful.