The Sower and the Soil, Part 2b

Turn with me in your Bible, if you would, to Matthew Chapter 13. Christ has begun a different kind of ministry. He is going to speak in parables, earthly stories with a heavenly meaning, to help us understand the truth of the kingdom of God. And although he doesn't rule on an earthly throne, he rules in the hearts of those who have submitted to his kingship. He's going to explain that by giving us a parable. Several parables in Matthew chapter 13 to help us understand the kingdom age or the church age, that we would come to grips with how the king will now rule in the hearts of people who are committed to him, and that as he rules in our lives, people will understand the lordship of Jesus Christ and why we serve the king as we do.

He begins with this parable in Matthew chapter 13. Behold the soar went out to sow, and as he sowed, some seas fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate them up. And others fell upon the rocky places where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up because they had no depth of soil. But when the sun had risen, they were scorched, and because they had no root, they withered away. Another fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them out. Another fell on the good soil, and yielded a crop, some hundredfold, some six, and some 30.

He who has ears to hear, let him hear. Christ begins with this parable, specifically because there's a whole multitude of people on the shore. He has gotten into a boat, and they have gathered around on the shore, and they are anticipating what the king is going to do next. And he's going to tell them a parable. And it's only going to be revealed to those who really, truly are committed to Christ, those who could care less. This is just going to be another story. And so the disciples will then ask, Lord, why are you going to speak in parables?

And he tells them why. And then he interprets this parable for his disciples. He says, there's a sower. I'm the sower. Matthew 1337 tells us that Jesus Christ is a sower. There's a seed. The seed is called the Word of the Kingdom. Mark calls it the Word of God. So we automatically know that the sower is Christ and the seed is the Word of God. It's that living, abiding, word of God that's powerful and that can penetrate to the death. depths of man's soul. So the Bible already tells us who the sower is.

The Bible tells us what the seed is. And Christ goes on to tell us then what the soil is. There's a roadside soil. There's a rocky soil. There's a thorny soil or weedy soil, and there's a good soil. He explains to us those kinds of soils because those soils are the condition of man's heart. You see, he once has been to know at the outset that the reason people are rejecting the gospel is going to be right here in the parable. And that's good for you and me to know, right? Because we're going to know why people don't respond to the message we give them.

Because the seed that we throw out is going to land on four types of hearts. A cold heart, a careless heart, a crowded heart, or a clean heart, a converted heart. One of those four soils. We don't know what man's heart can. condition is like only god does there are many people who on the outside they might look why they love christ there are people that go to christ community church i'd say it but they do and on the outside that they look like they love jesus they do but the deceitfulness of riches have choked out the word of god in their lives we go door to door in our own community and share christ of people they make professions of faith we have people who walk our aisles at the church services and make professions of faith.

Many of you have gone and shared Christ with people in the workplace who have made professions of faith. But the only way you know for certain they're truly born again is that they stay and they grow. That's the only way you truly know. They bear fruit. That's the proof. Christ said in Matthew 716 by your fruits, you will know them. Christ said this way over in John 15. It says, I am the true vine, and my father is the vine dresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit, he takes away. Where does he take it?

Iro is the same word used over in John 129, where it says, behold the Lamb of God who takes away, what? The sin of the world. He gets rid of it. He gets rid of the sin of the world. He gets rid of your sin. That's the Lamb of God. Same word used. Iro, which means to lift up as if to remove completely. It says, every branch in me that does not bear fruit, takes away. And every branch that bears fruit, he proves it that it may bear more fruit. Down in verse number six, it tells us, if anyone does not abide in me, he is thrown away as a branch and to rise up and they gather them and cast them into the fire.

So where's he taking them away to? It takes them to the fire. Listen to John 15, 16. You did not choose me. I chose you. And appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should remain. Jesus chose you. He didn't choose him. And he says, not only did I choose you, I appointed you. To do what? To bear fruit. And that fruit will not be lost. That fruit will remain. It will be evidenced. And that only way that happens is because I have chosen you. And because I choose you, you will bear fruit.

Those that I haven't chosen will bear no fruit. They'll be taken away. They'll be cast. into the fire. So back to Matthew chapter 13, you have the fourth soil. Then what's it saying? These words are the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil. This is the man who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and brings forth some hundredfold, some 60, and some 30. Not only does he hear the word of God, he understands the word of God. Mark says he accepts the word of God. Luke says he holds fast the word of God.

There are no weeds, there are no rocks, there are no hard surfaces, but this person produces fruit. And the fruit that he produces is 160 or 30 fold. And Christ says, I'm going to preach the word.

I'm going to preach repent for the kingdom of heaven his hand. But most of the people are not going to respond. And he's already told you why. Straight is the way, narrows their gate, few there be that find it. And this good soil is going to produce fruit. What is fruit? Well, you have the fruit of the spirit, right? That's a man's attitude. Glacians 522. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. That's the attitude of the believer. There is fruit that is being evidenced by a person who has love and joy and patience and gentleness and meekness and kindness.

Those things are being evidenced in their life. There is the fruit of the spirit. There are the fruit of actions. Fruit of actions, the fruit of righteousness. Over in Romans chapter 6, it says this in verse number 22. But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you have your fruit resulting in sanctification and the outcome eternal life. Paul says it very clearly. Now that you're free from sin, what do you have? You're enslaved to God. And now that you're enslaved to God, what do you have?

You got fruit. What kind of fruit? Fruit that brings forth sanctification. Fruit that evidences spiritual growth in your life, more like Christ, set apart for his purposes. And what's the result? The result is going to be eternal life. That's the end result. Those are fruit that are evidence in the life of a person, some 100-fold, some 60-fold, some 30-fold. It depends upon their level of commitment. It depends on where they are that day, on how they are demonstrating the fruit of the spirit, energizing their life.

as they walk with God and honor God and seek to serve their God. But the bottom line is there's not a search for fruit through a microscope to see if there's anything there. Point being it's completely evidence, and I'm afraid that many of us want to say, I know they're saying. How do you know? I was there when they walked the aisle. I was there when they said the prayer. I was there when they wept on the side of my bed. I was there. I heard the prayer. They were sincere, were they? And persecution and affliction came.

What did they do? When the desires of the world and the deceitfulness of riches begin to well up in their life, what happened to the Word of God? Are they bearing fruit today? Are they walking with God today? You see, because in the Bible, the evidence of salvation is not what you did in the past. The evidence of salvation is what is being evidenced every single day in your life. That's what the Bible says.

The Bible never says way back when you did this 15 years ago, 25 years ago, 30 years ago, when you said this or did that, you believe then. You don't believe now, but you believe then. And you can't lose your salvation, so you must be saved. No. You can't lose your salvation, but the parable of sword and the soil is explained. What is that? People who emotionally respond, quickly respond, oh, this is what I need. Jesus is what I need. I'm going to go out to Jesus. He'll give you what I want. He doesn't give them what I want, so they walk away from Jesus.

The affliction and the person in accusation comes, who needs this? That's the way God is. Who's going to serve that kind of God? And then you have the ones who hear the Word of God and they receive the Word of God, but they have a love for the world. And it chokes out the word of God. In the end, the world wins over the word. Because that's what they want more than God. You can say whatever you want about their past. But the present is evidence of what they are with their God. And that's what you've got to look at.

Peter talks about the living and abiding word of God that imparts life. that transforms a life. If any man be in Christ, he's a new creation. All things become new. Not some things. All things. The transforming work in the life of an individual. See, we tend to minimize the power of God in the life of a person so we can talk about the number of souls that we've led to Christ, thinking that we've done a great work. but the bottom line is that God is going to do the work and God is going to produce the fruit and we've got to wait and see what God's going to do we've got to be faithful to give the word we'll talk about that in a moment but it's their fruit in the life of the individual that is clearly and obviously seen not by one or two but by everybody that's what the rubber meets the road we are so quick to pass off someone as well they're just not walking with the Lord well they haven't walked with the Lord for the last 10 years so they must be carnal but we know they're saying well how do you know well because 10 years ago they they went down at the crusade They walked the island.

I saw them. I was there. I walked with them. It doesn't mean they're saying. It could be the thorny soil. They could be the roadside sword. They could be the rocky sword. Yet they're the good soil. God appointed them for one purpose to bear fruit. If he appointed them, guess what? You'll see. because God's in charge. Like Psalm 1. The believers like a tree planted by the river of water that brings forth fruit in its season. I love what Romans 7, verse number 4 says. It says this, therefore, my brethren, you also were made to die to the law through the body of Christ, that you might be joining to another to him, who is raised from the dead, that we might bear fruit for God.

how much clearer can it be you've been joined to the one whom he raised in the dead for what purpose that you might bear fruit for God that's why you were born again Paul would say it this way over in Colossians chapter 1 Colossian chapter 1 verse number 5 he says because of the hope laid up for you in heaven of which you previously heard in the word of truth the gospel which has come to you just as in all the world also it is listen to this constantly bearing fruit and increasing even as it has been doing in you also since the day you heard of it and understood the grace of God in truth.

Paul says, listen, there is an increasing amount of fruit in your life since the day you began. It's evident. Everybody knows it. And then he goes on to pray for them that they would bear fruit in every good work and increase in the knowledge of God. He wants it to bear more fruit. Because fruit bearing is the true evidence of the believer in Christ. James did it this way. James chapter 3, verse number 17. But the wisdom from above is first pure than peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy, and good fruits, unwavering without hypocrisy.

And the seed, the word of God, the seed whose fruit is righteousness, James says, is sewn in peace. by those me. The seed is sown in righteousness. The seed produces a righteous character, a godly life. That's why the Bible says that we are the workmanship of Christ.

We are as workmanship. We are as masterpiece. We've been saved by grace through faith. Nothing of ourselves. There's nothing we can do to obtain salvation. It's totally a work of God because God is going to do a work in us that we can't do ourselves but he wants to make us into the kind of people that will honor and glorify him. And he's going to do that. How dare us think that God is going to save us so that we might bear fruit and then come around and say, well, they're saved, but they don't bear fruit.

As it to say, God can't do what God said he's going to do. That's not going to happen. God's going to do what God's going to do. And Christ wanted it has been to see this. Christ says, you've got to get this.

You've got to know it because at the end of the ministry, when it's all said and done, there's just going to be a few of your left. They didn't know that. they didn't understand that but as time went on there would say well how can these people are following you Lord why don't these people want to give their life to you Lord and we'll look at it later in in Luke chapter 14 later on down the road when the whole multitude of people are still following Christ and he turns around and says look I'm glad you're here I am so glad you're here but I want to tell you something if any man come after me and hate not mother father brother sister he's not worthy of me and if any man came up to me and doesn't take him his cross follow me.

He cannot, he will not ever be my disciple. Now that's not the best way to start a user-friendly church. Because people aren't going to come here to that. And Jesus says, I'm glad you're here, but consider the cost.

He goes on in his parable. We'll talk about that parable in the weeks ahead. Consider the cost. It's the cost of the following me. Most of people don't want to hear about the cost. But you see, if you value God, the cost is nothing. Point number three, the implications.

Let me give them to you quickly. Two of them. Number one, don't be discouraged. So after that message, how can we not be discouraged? Don't be discouraged. Listen, God has called you to sow seed. And I want to give you five ways you need to sow seed. Number one, you got to sow seed purely.

So easy to mix it with something else. Boy, in evangelicalism today, we want to mix the word with everything else. So that the word of God is eventually drowned out. You've got to sow the seed purely. Don't mix it with anything else. Just preach the word. Paul told everything. Preach the word. But, man, we want to do everything else, man. Everything else in the sun. Together a crowd in. And we ended diluting the Word of God. J.C. Rial said this way. Like the sow or the preacher must sow good seed if he wants to see fruit.

He must sow the pure Word of God and not the traditions of the church or the doctrines of men. Without this, his labor will be vain. He may go to and fro and seem to say much and to work busily in his words. weekly ministerial duties, but there will be no harvest of souls for heaven. No living results. And listen, and no conversions. When we mix the Word of God with everything else, you can guarantee one thing. There's not going to be true conversions because they're going to miss the Word of God.

Mark it down. We use everything to attract people to the church, all kinds of things, to attract them to get them in. Let me tell you something.

When you get them in and you keep them in, you've won them by that which you've attracted. them with, you haven't won them to the word of God. Whatever you have used to attract them, that's what you've won them to. You haven't won them to the word of God. Sow the seed purely. Number two, sow the seed plentifully.

Sown the seed plentifully. Says this. Now this I say, second quote, these nine, six. He who sowed sparingly, shall, also reaps sparingly, and he who sows bountifully shall also reap bountifully. Sow the seed plentifully, because you don't know what kind of soils out there? You don't know. You might think that that guy with a hard, hard, it's the cold guy. He's not going to respond to any way, but you've got to throw the seed out there because you just never know what God's going to do, do you? So you sow the seed plentifully.

Make sure you sow it purely, and then sow it plentifully. We're to go into all the world, going to all the nations, to make disciples and that's what we at Christ Community Church committed to do everywhere we possibly can Number three, sow the seed passionately.

It says over in Psalm 126, verse number six, he who goes to and fro weeping, carrying his bag of seed, shall indeed come again with a shout of joy, bringing his sheaves with him. So the seed passionately. Make sure that God is your passion. If you want to win people to Christ, sow the seed. passionately. May they see God at work in you. May they really hear what you say by seeing in your life what you say you believe. Do you love God with all your heart? Are you committed to God with all your heart?

Do you follow God? And doyou want those people that you sow seed with to follow God? Then they got to say that you're committed the God withall your heart. You've got to sow the seed purely. You've got to sowed plentifully. You've got to sow the seed passionately and fourthly, you've got to show the seed patiently. You've got to do it patiently. Relationship 6. Verse number 9 says this way, and let us not lose hard in doing good for in due time we shall reap if we do not grow weary. So easy to grow weary.

Nobody responds. Nobody cares. You've got to sow the seed patiently. A faithful sower is of more value is in a successful reaper. Without the farmer, the latter will be unemployed. That's not original with me. I don't know who said it, but it's in my note. It sounded good, so I said it to you. James said this way, James 5.7, behold, the farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it until it gets the early and late rains. So purely, plentifully, passionately, patiently, and lastly, so prayerfully.

So the seed prayerfully. Why? Because the Bible tells us over in 1st Corinthians chapter 3. I planted, verse number 6, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything but God who causes the growth. It's all about God. So you've got to sew the seed perfectly. God, you've got to make it happen. I can't do it. God, you've got to work in their heart. I can't change the heart. God, you've got to break the heart. I can't do it. God, you've got to melt the hardness that's there.

I can't do it. God, you've got to do it. You pray. John 663 says The Spirit gives life. So as you sow the seed, don't be discouraged. As the seed has been sown, point number two, don't be deceived.

Christ said it this way. Very clearly. You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? Even so every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown to the fire. So then you will know them by their fruits. Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my father who is in heaven.

Many will say to me on that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name? And in your name cast out demons and in your name before many miracles. And then I will declare to them I never knew you. depart from me, you who practice lawlessness. Can you imagine being on the Mount of Beatitudes on the day that Jesus says that?

In listening to his words? There's going to be many people in that day who say, Lord, Lord, in terms of endearment, man. Those are words of relationship. Lord! Lord! I knew you! I did for you. I worked for you. I served you. I sang for you. I lived for you. And God will say, I never knew you. Can you imagine that? That's amazing. How can somebody be so deceived? Oh, let me tell you something.

Satan has deceived so many people in the thinking that they're saved because they do the right things. They go to the right places. They can say the right words. They know the lingo. But there's never been a repentant spirit. There's never been sorrow over their sin where they cross. right out for salvation for a Savior and their heart's been transformed. The Bible says that the heart is deceitful and desperately wicked.

How about you? Do you have a relationship with the living God? Do you know for certain that if you die tonight, you spend eternity in heaven? Be not deceit. Be not to see. Know for certain. Let's pray. Thank you.