September 5, 2021
Morning Service

Jesus’ ministry is in full swing and His following is growing.  As one of His disciples this is very exciting as each day seems to be a new adventure.  On the other hand, it could also be an area where anxiety or even fear enters in not knowing where our journey is leading us.  It really is a day to day choice to follow the One we believe is the long awaited Messiah and be faithful in that day.  The same is true for each of us.  We can look at all the chaos and turmoil around us and allow it to cause fear in our hearts OR we can realize that this is a very exciting time in history and we all get to experience whatever God is doing.  We do not know what tomorrow holds, but we know who holds tomorrow.  We are following Him and that is what should matter most.  Today we begin a section where Jesus begins to teach in parables.  A parable is a simple story to illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson.  Jesus also explains to us why He uses these parables as part of His ministry.

 Mat 13:1-9 On the same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the sea.  (2)  And great multitudes were gathered together to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.  (3)  Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying: "Behold, a sower went out to sow.  (4)  And as he sowed, some seed 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 immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth.  (6)  But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away.  (7)  And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them.  (8)  But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.  (9)  He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"

            This is a simple story that anyone who knows even a little about gardening can relate to.  This gives us four different scenarios of farmer planting seed in different areas and the results of it.  But why speak in these parables?  Jesus answers this question from the disciples.

 

Mat 13:10-17 And the disciples came and said to Him, "Why do You speak to them in parables?"  (11)  He answered and said to them, "Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.  (12)  For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.  (13)  Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.  (14)  And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says: 'HEARING YOU WILL HEAR AND SHALL NOT UNDERSTAND, AND SEEING YOU WILL SEE AND NOT PERCEIVE; (15) FOR THE HEARTS OF THIS PEOPLE HAVE GROWN DULL. THEIR EARS ARE HARD OF HEARING, AND THEIR EYES THEY HAVE CLOSED, LEST THEY SHOULD SEE WITH THEIR EYES AND HEAR WITH THEIR EARS, LEST THEY SHOULD UNDERSTAND WITH THEIR HEARTS AND TURN, SO THAT I SHOULD HEAL THEM.'  (16)  But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear; (17) for assuredly, I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.

            God has chosen only certain ones to understand His teachings at this time.  He has chosen many in this multitude that He is speaking to now to be “blinded” to the truth.  This was prophesied by Isaiah that these will hear and see the same things the disciples do, but they will not be able to perceive or understand it fully.  Isaiah says the people’s hearts have grown dull, their ears are hard to hear, and their eyes are closed.  Doesn’t that sound like today’s culture as well?  People are enjoying their lives of sin and have no interest in spiritual things anymore.  It is all about fully enjoying this moment in time no matter the cost in the future.  Our society in general as well is doing this also; abortion, gender identity, and outlandish government spending are issues that we are dealing with today that will greatly impact us in the future.  It seems our culture is refusing to look at these things in a spiritual perspective.    Jesus then reveals to us that we are “blessed that our eyes see and our ears hear” the truth.  Many faithful followers desired to know the things we know and did not receive it because it was not time yet.  We are blessed to have the entire Word of God at our fingertips.  We are chosen by Him to see and understand what is happening in our world from His perspective.  Do you realize how precious it is to be here in God’s house today?  He has chosen us for “such a time as this” and we need to be busy about the Father’s business; if not us then who?

            By teaching in these parables, Jesus is feeding those who truly hunger for His Word revealing some deep truths to them while to the others they are just simple stories.  Jesus now explains the soils to the disciples only.

 

Mat 13:18-23 "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 snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside.  (20)  But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; (21) he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles.  (22)  Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.  (23)  But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty."

            The truth behind this parable is now clear to us as the four types of soil are four different responses to the gospel message.  The hard soil refers to the state of their heart as they don’t understand the message so they reject it and allows the enemy to steal it from them. The stony soil refers to one who receives the message with joy, but shortly along the journey they realize the commitment that is required is more than they are willing to give or a trial comes their way and they fall away.  Their journey did not include the needed growth of roots that sustains us along the difficult times.  As we saw last week, when we remove ourselves from a sinful situation or lifestyle we must fully embrace God and fill our heart with Him or in the end we are worse off than when we began.  The seeds among the thorns represent a lot of people in our generation.  They accept the gospel message and begin to grow, but allow the cares or this world to overcome their faith.  The busyness of life and the desire to fully enjoy it overtakes our desire to commit to fully following Jesus.  Church attendance is wonderful as long there is nothing else to do.  The pursuit of material things to be like everyone else engulfs us in a lifestyle that draws us away from our walk with our Lord.  None of these three soils are producing fruit for the kingdom of God. 

The good soil is what we want to be; a true fully committed follower of Jesus.  This life produces fruit, not the same amount for everyone, but spiritual fruit is evident in their lives.  This does not necessarily mean winning souls for the kingdom, I think this is referring to the fruits of the Spirit in Galatians 5 (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control).   The question for each of us is which soil are we?  To be fertile we must be diligent about seeking His will in our lives and being faithful to His commands.  This desire must be greater than anything else in our lives; coming first in line of our priorities.  To put God in second place is to fail to produce that fruit we are capable of.; when He is first all things are possible.  Can you think of anything greater in your life than to be used of God to build His eternal kingdom?  To help change lives that are heading quickly away from God rather than to Him?  At your funeral do you think they will talk about the amount of money and material you had, or the impact you had on others’ lives?  A fruitful life leaves a legacy behind.  To be fertile soil is to be a life changer pointing those around you to Jesus the Lamb of God who has something better for them that what they are currently doing.  Are you fertile soil? 

            What does this parable teach us?  There is a danger of hearing the message and not obeying it and not everyone will accept it. It shows as believers we have three great obstacles to overcome in this world, our enemy, our own fleshly desires, and the call of the world to conform to their lifestyle. It shows that God has invested in each of us as a garden and expects us to produce fruit for Him.

 

Heavenly Father thank You for choosing us to follow You and to have eyes that see and ears that hear Your truth.  Draw us closer to You and allow the Holy Spirit to work in each of our lives to be fruitful a hundredfold!