In real life farming we can say that a crop may fail for three reasons: the seed may be bad, the soil may be bad, or the sower may not have done his work properly.  AFor thus saith the Lord to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, Break up your fallow (inactive) ground, and sow not among thorns.@ Jeremiah 4:3.  Jesus in this parable assumes that it was not the mistake of the sower; he did his work correctly.  It was not the fault of the seed; it was good seed. 

Also, let us remember that all the seed sown by the Lord Himself did not produce good fruit unto life everlasting.  Here is a lesson for all Christian workers: the truth of the gospel can be presented correctly and yet it may fail.  The fault lies in the mind that receives it.  There are those who hear, receive, and believe the gospel. There are those who hear and receive, but do not believe.  Jesus spoke of both groups in the parable.  AWho hath ears to hear, let him hear.@  Matthew 13:9.  AAnd in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:@  Matthew 13:14.  AFor this people=s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.@  Matthew 13:15.

This is a great parable given and explained by Jesus.  It is a portion of God=s Word that teaches us that success does not depend on the preacher, nor altogether on the Word preached.  If results depend on the preacher and the Word preached, Jesus would have had 100 per cent success, and we know from reading the Scripture that He met with much unbelief and hardness of heart.  Hearing is an urgent and very important business.  An appeal, even the appeal of our Lord, may not be received.

Whenever and wherever the Word of God is preached or expounded, and people are assembled to hear it, the teaching of Jesus in the parable is always found to be true.  It describes what goes on as a general rule in all congregations.

With that introduction, I want us to see three points in the sermon for this month:

1.      Ground must be sufficiently dug

2.      Good seed must be dropped

3.      Grateful servants must be diligent

 

Let us look first of all to the soil.  Most of the details of this parable are concerned not so much with the sower or the seed, but in the various soils in which the seed fell.  The Lord mentioned four types of soils.  The work of the preacher resembles that of the farmer sowing his seed expecting to reap a harvest.

 

I.            Ground Must Be Sufficiently Dug

In the parable, the Lord teaches us that we may draw help from everything in creation.  In sowing the seed, we must be careful to choose acceptable language to present the gospel. We must use language and preach in such a way that the gospel is made plain and clear.  AVanity of vanities, saith the preacher; all is vanity.  And moreover, because the preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; yea, he gave good heed, and sought out, set in order many proverbs.  The preacher sought to find out acceptable words: and that which was written was upright, even words of truth@ Ecclesiastes 12:8-10.

Here are some words to guide us as we present the gospel:

1.      ASo, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also.  For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.@  Romans 1:15-16.

2.   The work of the Holy Spirit must accompany the gospel.  AIt is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.@  John 6:63.

3.   We must understand that in order to break up the fallow ground, we must be patient and Asow beside all waters@, and sow in hope.  We must be A...instant in season, out of season...@ II Timothy 4:2.  We must not be deterred by problems, difficulties and discouragements.  The seed must be sown and the ground must be prepared.  AHe that observeth the wind shall

not sow...@ Ecclesiastes 11:4.  And ABlessed are ye that sow beside all waters, that send forth thither the feet of the ox and the ass.@  Isaiah 32:20.

4.  When we consider the woman at Jacob=s Well there are more guide-

lines to think about.  They are:

a. She did not wait until everything was perfect to begin her work in preparing the soil.

b. She did not wait to be pampered.

c. She did not permit her past life to defeat her.

d. She did not wait to be prompted.

e. She did not wait for the people to come to her.

 

II.  Good Seed Must Be Dropped

Like the farmer planting his crop, if he expects to reap any kind of a harvest, he must sow good seed.  So it is with the Christian workers who must sow the true gospel, the pure Word of God.  If the preachers/teachers of the gospel are to expect fruit for their labor, they must sow the pure Word of God and not the traditions of the church or the doctrines of men.

Like the farmer, the preacher cannot give life to the seed nor can he make it grow.  He can preach the truth about the gospel, but he cannot make others believe it, accept it and be saved.  Once the farmer plants the seed, he is helpless and so it is with the preacher.  To give life is God=s work, the great work of sovereign grace.

1.      Real Minster:  It is no easy thing to be a real preacher of God=s Word.  He must be a man of many professions, but remember his first work is that of preaching the Word of God and scattering the seed.  Paul instructed young Timothy, APreach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine.@ II Timothy 4:2.

2.      Formal Workman:  The formal workman in the Christian community has an easy job.  He has no burden for souls and most likely that stems from one of these two things: 1) He has never really been born again or never been converted, or 2) He has never been chosen by God and called by God to be a preacher of the Word of God.  God is the judge, but along with many others in the church, the minister if not converted, needs that experience first like the common sinner in the street or in the pew.

3.      Remember the Preacher in Prayer: We should remember the pastor/evangelist in our daily prayer.  To be a pastor with all the responsibilities is no light task.  A pastor must in all fairness to God and his church family give time to study and preparation of the sermon.  His first job is to prepare himself and the sermon and scatter the seed during the worship hour.  Not only at the regular church service must he be prepared, but also, whenever the church door is open during the week.  As a preacher, he is a seed sower.

 

III.  Grateful Servants Must Be Diligent

A.      Grateful servants understand; they have the wisdom to be OBJECTIVE.  God=s Word will not return to Him void.

ASo shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing where to I sent it@  Isaiah 55:11.  ACast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days.@  Ecclesiastes 11:1.

 

AIn the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand: for thou knowest not whether shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good.@  Ecclesiastes 11:6.

1.      Grateful servants will be OBEDIENT.  They answer the call with a willing spirit and an attitude of thankfulness.

2.      Grateful servants will remember the work of Jesus and what He taught that not all will be saved.

 

In closing, let us look at the four hearers:

1.      The Wayside Hearer: AAnd when he sowed, some seeds fell by the WAY SIDE, and the fowls came and devoured them up.@ Matthew 13:4.  Here, the heart, which receives the seed, is unreceptive and unresponsive.  It is like a cement highway hardened by the constant traffic of the world.  Though the Word may reach the heart, it does not lodge there.  This is a sad experience that happens so many times.

2.      The Stony-Ground Hearers: ASome fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth.  And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.@  Matthew 13:5, 6.  These are the ones that appear to be promising, but later prove to be very disappointing because they lack depth.  They rejoice for a while.

Please Take Note:  When a divine work of grace is wrought by the Holy Spirit in a soul, the first effects of the Word upon it are not to produce peace and joy, but contrition, humility, and sorrow.

3.      The Thorny-Ground Hearers:  AAnd some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them:@ Matthew 13:7.  Here it is not so much inward causes and reasons as it is external snares that render the third class of hearers unfruitful.  We see then these three reasons for the hearers being unfruitful.  First, the natural hardness of the sinner=s heart/mind.  Secondly, the superficiality of the flesh.  Thirdly, the attractions and distractions of the world.

4.      The Good-Ground Hearers:  ABut other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.  Who hath ears to hear, let him hear@ Matthew 13: 8-9.  The good-ground hearers are those, who by God=s grace hear the word of the gospel and salvation.  They are those who receive the Word and by grace keep the Word.  These good-ground hearers bring forth the fruit of the Spirit.

Let us continue the work of sowing the seed.  Everyone performing his own seed-sowing program, using his talent (talents) no matter how small, will help accomplish God=s purpose on earth to glorify the Savior.  What a joy it will be when the Master looks into our eyes in that great day of His appearing and with a loving smile of approval says, A...Well done, thou good and faithful servant...enter thou into the joy of thy Lord@  Matthew 25:21.

Knowles Shaw wrote the words to the song, ASowing in the Morning@ and George A. Minor set the words to music.  I have selected it to close our message this month.

Sowing in the Morning

Sowing in the morning, sowing seeds of kindness,

Sowing in the noontide and the dewy eve;

Waiting for the harvest, and the time for reaping,

We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves.

Bringing in the sheaves, Bringing in the sheaves,

We shall come rejoicing, Bringing in the sheaves;

Bringing in the sheaves, Bringing in the sheaves,

We shall come rejoicing, Bringing in the sheaves.

     Next month we will continue our series of sermons on the general theme, APreaching Through the Parables@.