For some of you, at some point this morning, I am going to offend you. Believe it or not – that is a part of my commission. I have been tasked to remind you that you are not good enough for God. YOU are not good enough for heaven. You are a sinner in desperate need of a Saviour – the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Since I’m going to offend you at some point, let’s get it out of the way right now. Your job – the employment at which you spend forty hours every week – is not the most important occupation in the world. What you do for a living is not going to keep the world spinning or stave off death for someone. Most of us are like the proverbial finger in bucket of water; pull it out and no one will ever know it was there. I heard a couple of graduating high school seniors say they want to be pharmacists or EMTs. Physicians and pharmacists may help us get through the day. But they can’t give us another day of life – without others’ help. Teachers may be important, but there are a lot of dumb people in the world, getting along just fine. It is great that there are trained pilots to fly our airplanes, but life was good before there was air flight. There are a lot of high paying occupations that are really not as important as their salaries indicate. Do we really need another millionaire basketball player or footballer? If there IS any occupation really vital to life, it is the farmer who grows the food that we need to survive. And as far as I know, despite a few gardeners among us, none of us here today are farmers.
With that in mind, we notice that the Bible uses a couple occupations to illustrate the work of the ministry. For example, some of Jesus’ disciples were fishermen putting fishy food on their tables and the tables of others. When Jesus called those men to His ministry He said, “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.” Fishing can be used to illustrate the work of gospel evangelism. Or we might point to Noah and the ark that he built as another illustration of the gospel ministry. There was only one way for the people of Noah’s generation to be saved from the upcoming judgment. They needed the ship that Noah built. There might be one or two other illustrations, but Jesus’ foremost picture of the ministry was farming.
This parable is mentioned in the first three books of the New Testament – the synoptic gospels.
Together, they only hint at the crop, but they emphasize several other farm-related subjects. We aren’t told if the expected crop was radishes or turnips, wheat or corn. The crop wasn’t really relevant to Christ’s lesson. But He did point out that there was a farmer, or as he is described here – “a sower” – “a seed scatterer.” The sower was essential to the lesson. And of course, in Jesus’ day the farmer didn’t have the fancy equipment we have today. He didn’t have automatic planting machines or seed drills, pulled by huge tractors. He didn’t always use a plow, because most farmers weren’t wealthy enough to own horses or oxen. In order to get his crop going, he simply scattered the seed across the ground. He was “a sower” of seed; or you might say he was “a thrower” of seed.
The other day I read that the father of a certain preacher from 300 years ago was “a grazier.” I had to stop and think for a moment – “a grazier” – what’s a grazier? Oh, ya, the man was a rancher; one who grazed cattle. Maybe we don’t say “sower” or “grazier” any more, but we don’t need to throw away our Bibles, or our old biographies, just because they make us think a little bit.
The seed was sower’s to sow; he had either saved it from last year’s crop, or he purchased it to plant. He could do with it whatever he wanted – grind it into flour, make paste of it, eat it, or he could sow it. In verse 14, we are told that this seed was an important part of the Lord’s illustration. “The sower soweth the WORD” – what word is that? In Matthew’s account of this same parable, he speaks of the “word of the KINGDOM.” And Luke clarifies things even more: “The seed is the WORD of GOD.” This seed is the word of God’s kingdom – we might say this kingdom is “heaven,” but it is more than that. The bread of eternal life – heavenly life – is a product of the sowing of the Word of God – the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
If the work of the farmer is the most important occupation in all the world. And in this parable, if the seed is the Word of God, by application, the most important work that any man can do in the light of eternity is to preach the gospel – “sow the seed, the word of God.” Young man, if you want your life leave a mark for eternity, then you need to throw down that video game controller and ask the Lord if He isn’t calling you into spiritual farming – gospel preaching.
More specifically, in what way is the Word of God like seed? Well, first of all, it is not of human origin – it is a miracle of God. Like any form of reproduction – birds, bees, wheat or petunias – evolution has no adequate explanation. All the parts necessary for a kernel of wheat to produce more kernels of wheat are far to complex to have accidentally fallen into place. And it seem to me that in animal life, it is even more complex. Furthermore in regards to wheat, science can take a seed apart, dividing it into all of its component parts. But no scientist can put it back together again in such a way that it can germinate and grow. The scientist might modify some existing seeds, but he can’t create those seeds. That rebuilt seed – or human-built seed – lacks one essential ingredient – life. And life is the prerogative of God alone. Jesus is “the way, the truth and the life.” He is the bread of life and the water of life. “In him IS life.”
The seed is the Word of God, and we have the word of God in the book we call the ”Bible.” There are billions of books in the world, but there are none like the Bible – not even the Quran, the Vidas, the Pearl of Great Price or the Book of Mormon. The Bible is filled with words – ink on a page, hundreds of pages. It has chapters. It had many pen-men. But it is not just another book like all the others. It has been inspired by the Holy Spirit, and it is empowered with life by the command of God Himself. It isn’t confined to ideas, no matter how thrilling they might be. The Bible contains life and through it, the Lord creates eternal life where there is nothing but emptiness. The seed is the Word of God, and the life in that seed produces more life.
One day the Lord Jesus was dealing with some of the more unconvinced of His followers. They were like thousands of modern church members, who have had some attraction to Christ, but they are not fully committed – they were not true believers. To those people the Lord pointed out that despite their outward appearances they had no life. “It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.” “BUT there are some of you that believe not.” Those particular people had not permitted the seed of God’s word to germinate within them. And how does it germinate? When the seed is received by faith, and the Holy Spirit sends His own special rain upon it, it sprouts. And from what – or from Whom – does faith come? Romans says, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” And then it adds shortly thereafter – “FAITH cometh by HEARING, and hearing by the WORD of GOD.” I Peter 1:23 – “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.” I do not believe that people will be saved apart from a Holy Spirit’s ministry of the Word of God. There is no power for spiritual life apart from the Word of God. The seed in Jesus’ parable is the Word of God.
Of course, the whole point of seed germination is seed production. The seed gives itself and dies in order to give. Paul told the Galatians that the gospel came upon them in order to produce fruit in them. Some people thrive with the feel of 450 horse power at the finger tips – but you and I possess more. In the Word of God we hold eternal power – spiritual power – the power of eternal life.
And what should be done with that seed? There could be dozens things done with it, but only two really matter. Do you remember years ago helping your child, or perhaps making your own childish collage – pictures with various kinds of beans and rice and dried corn? You put a drop of glue on the heavy paper and then you dropped that colorful seed of some kind. But God didn’t give us beans or corn in order to make pictures. We can either eat the seed and be strengthened by it, or we can plant it in order to produce more seed. “Behold a sower went forth to sow.”
Also, assumed in this story is the ownership of the land by this farmer, or at least by his employer. And spiritually, this is also true. The field is the world, and the world was created by the God who authorizes this seeding. Yes, parts of the field are stony, and parts are packed down by the feet animals and hikers. But that weedy property, that swampy property, that granite-covered mountain face, as well as the luscious fruitful valley, all belong to the Lord. And inserting each of us into this parable, your soul also belongs to God, whether you are hard-hearted, hard-headed or tender and ready to receive the precious seed. Both the seed and the soil were property of the divine land-owner and his farm-hand.
Now, in this parable, the seed of the Wrd of God was scattered indiscriminately onto four types of soil.
Some of the seed fell by the wayside. “Wayside” speaks of a road way – a well traveled path hardened by trudging feet. It is interpreted for us in verse 15 – “These are they by the way side, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts.” The Word of God is seldom preached when this doesn’t take place – the seed falls on solid soil. It is potential dirt, but for whatever reason it has become hard – hardened like clay into spiritless brick. The gospel which falls on the beaten path, the unresponsive ear, the hardened heart – will not sprout. And it isn’t long before Satan, the defacto “god of this world,” sweeps it out of the way.
What is it that hardens people towards the Word of God? There could be lots of answers. For example, there is the work of a society controlled by anti-theistic thought and motives. The world and the wicked one – Satan – work to keep God’s Word from growing in us. Satan came to Eve and snatched away the seed – “Yea, hath God said…..” The Lord Jesus visited Jerusalem preaching the word, and Satan’s birds gobbled of that word, asking “Can any good thing come out of Galilee?” “The god of this world hath blinded the minds of them that believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God should shine unto them.”
Generally speaking society works to keep the power of God’s seed at bay. But then there are those personal problems that work in the hearts of individuals. Perhaps it is pride; the love of some sin; the love for some individual; simple stubbornness. You may say you are a thinker, and you think that believing on Christ is anti-intellectual. Then you aren’t thinking it through. There is plenty of evidence and the testimony of thousands for nearly every truth the Bible contains.
When it comes to evangelism, there is very little the sower can do about the hard packed soil of human heart. It takes the Holy Spirit to till the ground, opening it up for the seed. And yet, since in the illustration, we are the soil; then obviously we certainly bear some responsibility. We can deliberately soften our hearts; we can openly and honestly consider the seed. Often that is all it takes for germination.
In the parable, some of the seed fell in places filled with stones and where there wasn’t much earth. The Lord Jesus explained this in verses 16 and 17 – “And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness; And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word’s sake, immediately they are offended..” Perhaps children are good illustrations of this illustration. They might love the major Bible stories of David, Daniel and Peter walking on the water. But to them they are nothing but stories, and as life begins to reveal itself to those young souls, they become offended at their childish naivety.
Human beings were designed by God to be emotional creatures – although everyone is a bit different in this. Some of us are moved by tears and joys more than others are. Some of us are fearful of opposition, affliction and persecution, getting offended quickly. We are like various kinds of carpet quality – soft, hard, durable, temporary, soil resistant, indoor, outdoor. This church has not been blessed with an emotional preacher – someone who often bears his heart or who can draw out other people’s emotions. There is certainly a place for that kind of ministry. But if that is a preacher’s entire ministry, then the results will often be emotion-based and nothing more. I know for a fact that reception of God’s word based on emotion alone, produces shallow rooted plants. A tear, alone, has never yet saved a sin-sick soul.
That doesn’t mean that a few tears can’t moisten the ground enough to get some piece of dirt to “immediately receive it with gladness” and apparently germinate the seed. But tears, like emotions, don’t last long enough to bring that seedling to maturity. What the seed of the word of God needs is a steady, soaking rain from Heaven. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and there is far too much fleshly evangelism – little Biblical substance. Read through the four gospels and ask yourself: How many sob stories did Jesus share with the crowds? I suppose that there were tears surrounding many of the sick, dying and dead whom the Lord healed. Certainly, sin has made life extremely cruel, and many lives are filled with tears and grief. But Lord didn’t use that to water His seed. The Lord wants us to accept the truth for truth’s sake. Yes, there are personal benefits when we respond properly to the seed of the Word of God. And yes, the seed may produce wonderful fruit – filling our hearts, minds and bellies. But the Word of God should be ingested for its own sake – because of what it is – the revelation of God.
Sometimes the seed falls among thorns – a third kind of soil – and is choked out. “These are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word, And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.” This is another effect of the world and its influence. But this time, it is not that the world has hardened the heart, leaving it exposed to Satan. This time the things of the world themselves grow like weeds and choke out the gospel.
When we were children some of us had our Sunday Schools, Vacation Bible Schools and our church attendance. We may have had a collection of Bible verses stored in our heads or hearts. We could retell the parable of the sower as well as your preacher can this morning. But then we noticed girls, or boys, or football, or money, or a kind of car that really impressed us. How many times have we heard this sort thing in the testimony I share each week? Despite a good upbringing, something less important came along and drew away that child’s attention. The flourishing seedling began to be choked out by other things – or perhaps by a dozen other things – and it couldn’t flourish in the shade of those other things. Yes, there was still life in the root, but it couldn’t reach the sun, and it couldn’t branch out to bear fruit. If some spiritual botanist came along and dug up that root, he’d be able to identify it immediately. But to the untrained eye, walking along the heard-beaten path, he might not even know a plant was there. That is precisely what the world sees when it looks at many professing Christians – nothing of interest. Cares of the world – worries over world politics – the needs of a growing family supercede spiritual things.
Thankfully, in this case some seed “fell on good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased…” The seed fell on good ground, prepared soil, ground that was hungry to become useful. And how did it become “good ground?” Well, I suppose there might be a hundred different ways, but they all come from the hand of the Master Gardener. It might be as simple as the way the Holy Spirit brought you into the sound of my voice. Or maybe the Lord is permitting you to feel the plow slicing through your heart, cutting off parts of your life that you have dearly loved. It might be that He has given you a disease which softens hearts while preparing that heart for death.
The question is: Are you ready to hear the gospel? Are you ready to receive God’s seed? Have you come to the point of needing more than what this world has to offer? Are you ready to kick aside those thorns which have been choking the growth of God’s word in your heart?
In Matthew’s account of this parable, the Lord Jesus began with: “Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.” There are several of us who are in the process of losing our hearing. As a result there are conversations we can’t overhear; it is difficult to the television; in a crowded room with everyone talking we can’t distinguish anything. Are you tired of your deafness, and are you ready to hear the most important conversation anyone can have? You will never have spiritual and eternal life, if you refuse the spiritual seed of the Gospel. And the seed that has fallen on your soul today, could be snatched away never to be sown again. Won’t you be like the early believers in Jerusalem; won’t you “receive the word with gladness” this morning?