Good Morning Friends,
Today we look at the personal teaching of Jesus concerning the growing of the body of believers and the growing of ourselves spiritually and mentally. There are some similarities in the challenge of helping people to grow. Now some think this should come from a pulpit and others by encounters of outreach to people in the work of making a difference in the world. Today’s parable of the seed brings some clarity to this situation. The reality is that doing good and sharing the Gospel are never really separated. The reality is that the seed in the parable is the Word of God and how we respond to it is the soil. Is Your Gardening Producing A Harvest?
Scripture: But that same night the word of the Lord came to Nathan: Go and tell my servant David: Thus says the Lord: Are you the one to build me a house to live in? I have not lived in a house since the day I brought up the people of Israel from Egypt to this day, but I have been moving about in a tent and a tabernacle. Wherever I have moved about among all the people of Israel, did I ever speak a word with any of the tribal leaders of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, saying, “Why have you not built me a house of cedar?” Now therefore thus you shall say to my servant David: Thus says the Lord of hosts: I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep to be prince over my people Israel; and I have been with you wherever you went, and have cut off all your enemies from before you; and I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth. And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, so that they may live in their own place, and be disturbed no more; and evildoers shall afflict them no more, as formerly, from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel; and I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover the Lord declares to you that the Lord will make you a house. When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come forth from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me. When he commits iniquity, I will punish him with a rod such as mortals use, with blows inflicted by human beings. But I will not take my steadfast love from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. Your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me; your throne shall be established forever. In accordance with all these words and with all this vision, Nathan spoke to David.
2 Samuel 7:4-17 (NRSV)
Again he began to teach beside the sea. Such a very large crowd gathered around him that he got into a boat on the sea and sat there, while the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land. He began to teach them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them: “Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and it sprang up quickly, since it had no depth of soil. And when the sun rose, it was scorched; and since it had no root, it withered away. Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. Other seed fell into good soil and brought forth grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.” And he said, “Let anyone with ears to hear listen!” When he was alone, those who were around him along with the twelve asked him about the parables. And he said to them, “To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside, everything comes in parables; in order that ‘they may indeed look, but not perceive, and may indeed listen, but not understand; so that they may not turn again and be forgiven.'” And he said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? Then how will you understand all the parables? The sower sows the word. These are the ones on the path where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them. And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: when they hear the word, they immediately receive it with joy. But they have no root, and endure only for a while; then, when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away. And others are those sown among the thorns: these are the ones who hear the word, but the cares of the world, and the lure of wealth, and the desire for other things come in and choke the word, and it yields nothing. And these are the ones sown on the good soil: they hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.”
Mark 4:1-20 (NRSV)
Indeed, the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And before him no creature is hidden, but all are naked and laid bare to the eyes of the one to whom we must render an account.
Hebrews 4:12-13 (NRSV)
‘I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine-grower. He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.
John 15:1-6 (NRSV)
He has abolished the law with its commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new humanity in place of the two, thus making peace,
Ephesians 2:15 (NRSV)
Message: Jesus, a Jew came to fulfil the law for Jews but was often willing to risk trying new things in sharing the Gospel to the marginalized. In the Parable of the Sower and in its explanation, Jesus sets forth a description of how a planting of a seed reacts to the different soils of our lives in the world. So, Jesus tells a story about a farmer who is sowing seeds on his field expecting a harvest and the farmer in the story observes that he has three different soils and gets different results from each of them. What may be confusing for us today is that we have 1000 different soil types in Florida alone and so in the telling of the story today the interpretation of the parable can get more complicated as certainly the landscape of religion has become. But I am not going to go there but instead get back to basics. By observation, we know that the farmer expected a harvest. He distinguishes the different soils and different results. Then later in the chapter we see Jesus’ interpretation of the parable. And we get the idea that our job is to get the seed into the right soil so that it will grow and see a harvest. But it is also about improving our own soil. For once the seed of the Word is sown in our heart, we become the farmers to in turn sow the Word of God in people’s lives and to do that effectively we are to have a good heart. Once the seed of the Word spouts in us, the desire is to see it planted in good soil and see lives changed by God’s Word to affect us as well as those around us. But notice that the farmer plants the seed and we water and nurture, but God gives the increase. We cannot do more than plant and nurture. God is the one responsible to germinate and increase the harvest. He is the one that prepares the soil where the seed will be planted. Therefore, we think some are ready and it does not germinate and then others where we think there is no chance and we see a great harvest in their lives. But friends, I would be remiss if I did not point out that trouble comes because of the “Word”. Speaking the Truth gets people fired all the time. The Word is strategically powerful, and it begins to cut away things that God wants out of our lives- and the problem comes when we do not want to let God cut it out so we might produce fruit of the Spirit that is the will of God. Friends, life is in the seed, and the soil, not so much in our actions. Trust the seed. Stop worrying about how good a Sower you are. Realize that it is not your plan or my plan but God’s plan we are to seek. Pray we realize that doing something good will always be associated with the Gospel but that on a case-by-case basis may not be the limit of God’s specific will for each of us. It is God that brings the harvest.
And So, the purpose behind it all is for us to experience the joy of being connected to Christ and yes to so we might produce fruit of the Spirit. Evangelism, membership, mission, and fellowship committees might learn an important lesson from this thinking. You see our spiritual soil must be built up through study of scripture, prayer, and Christian community but also in the understanding that comes from the Holy Spirit. When we build up and replenish the soil, we can have hope to increase the harvest. Staying connected to God and abiding in prayer is an essential ministry that is needed for us to be part of a spiritual harvest for the Kingdom. So, discover that it is important to abide in Christ daily through study of the Word… discover that it is fruitful for us to have not only faith in the power of this connection but also a forgiving heart, so the connection be clear and pure. Friends to be fruitful is to be compassionate to the needs of others…. extending and growing our love so that our fear can be removed. To be fruitful is to believe that God will answer prayers so that He might be glorified. Then if we have learned any of that, then we learn that fruit bearing is a byproduct of abiding in Christ. We learn that Christ is key to the harvest.
Pray we become good soil and bear much fruit. Pray God’s truths be empowered by the Holy Spirit in us. Pray that the authority of Jesus be nurtured in us to complement the strength and gifts we have been given. Pray we realize that we cannot out give or out produce God. Pray we abide in the Word. Pray we abide in love. Pray we abide in the abundant joy of Jesus. Pray we are connected to a productive purpose that honors God. Pray we are connected to what really matters. Pray we listen and respond appropriately to people hearing the Word of God so that it might find a way to help that seed take sprout and develop deep roots. Pray we realize that seeds must be sown in lots of places and not just places we call church. Pray we treasure God’s Word as wisdom on how to live. Pray we read, study, memorize, and meditate on God’s Word. Pray we apply, trust, and obey God’s Word. Pray we live God’s Word. Pray that our own experiences of having had a hard heart, a shallow heart, a divided heart, and a selfish heart help us to respond appropriately to those confronted with these challenges so that with God’s help we might all develop a humble heart. Pray the seeds we plant grow into abundance and love. Pray we have wisdom on how to deal with weeds.
Blessings,
John Lawson
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