video in Sermon Current link

MOTIVATE

Many parents and grandparents enjoy reading to children. It’s one of the classic ways to create a bond of love, as well as nurture character and teach life lessons. Stories have a way of shaping minds and hearts more than abstract truth.

• Few children crawl in a lap and say, “Tell me about the existence of God gpa… Mom, can you explain why I repeatedly sin and how to stop telling lies?” Instead, stories are like mirrors that reveal our heart, and like windows that help us to see where we need to go.  

But with stories, we have to make sure that we are understanding what the author intended.

•  Goldi Locks and Three Bears isn’t promoting home invasions. Instead, it’s about respecting the differences of one another.
•  Three Little Pigs isn’t about the persuasive power of the aroma of bacon. Instead, it’s about the essentialness of effort to build a good foundation to protect yourself from life’s dangers.
•  Cinderella isn’t about the joy of new shoes but how beauty is more than appearances and how kindness is rewarded in unforeseen ways.

Likewise, when it comes to the Bible and the teachings of Jesus, we must understand the meaning of the text that the author intended.

EXAMINE Matthew 13:1-9; 18-23[1]

¹ That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. ² And great crowds gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach. ³ And he told them many things in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow. ⁴ And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. ⁵ Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, ⁶ but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away. ⁷ Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. ⁸ Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. ⁹ He who has ears, let him hear.”

¹⁸ “Hear then the parable of the sower: ¹⁹ When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path. ²⁰ As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, ²¹ yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away. ²² As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. ²³ As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”

• ¹ Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea… One of the features of Jesus that we love is that He took the gospel outside the church into the communities and corners of the world that had been excluded. This is a reminder to churches today solely relying on attractional events, or much less the mindset “y’all come” is not sufficient to the model or command of Jesus to share the good news of God’s kingdom.
   

²Jesus got into a boat to speak over the water…

Another feature of Jesus is teaching with innovative methods to amplify His voice across the water, and increase opportunities for more people to visualize Him as they sat along the shore. Likewise, this is a reminder to churches to contextualize innovative methods of ministry without changing the message of the gospel.

³Jesus told them many things in parables… παρα-βάλλω combined word to mean “to cast/throw alongside.” Jesus uses similes to compare a common object to the kingdom of heaven.

• In Matthew 13 Jesus tells 8 stories/parables: receptive soil, wasteful weeds, tiny seeds, impactful yeast, hidden treasure, costly pearls, prosperous fishing, and wealthy homeowner. Some understand but many do not.  
  • Imagine if I stood on Benfield Rd, stopped traffic with a megaphone and then began saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like getting pizza: Digiorno is frozen, Papa Johns is fast, Ledo’s doesn’t cut corners, MOD is a buffet dream, but Little Carmines is the tastiest. They who have ears to hear, let them hear.” Does everyone understand or agree?
  • Listening – sincerely listening – is a highly important task as Christ followers. Yet, listening is not what we love to do. We want to talk, defend ourselves, or complain – anything but listen.  
  • Simply put, a parable is an earthly story with hidden but heavenly meaning. But more, the parables of Jesus were meant to provoke you to a response. One could not remain neutral after listening to Jesus’ teachings – you either were moving forward or drifting away.

13:3 Parable of Sower

• Recorded in Synoptics: Mt 13; Mk 4; Lk 8. Also unique, Jesus provides us the interpretation.
  
• A Sower went out to sow seeds; a familiar and necessary action. A Sower would have a bag of seed from which he would draw and cast the seed “broadcast style” in a very liberal manner. Some farmers may have plowed before casting seed, but many plowed after or both.^[2] The seed would fall on various soil types and the farmer could only wait & hope for the sown seed to grow.
  
• Jesus explains the parable, relating the seed to “the word of the kingdom” (v.19). This word was Jesus’s message – the good news that God’s kingdom had come, and the reversal of sin’s curse was slowly beginning to take place. The miracles of Jesus symbolized God’s power to turn back the devastating effects of sin in our life, whether physical health, emotional stability, mental wellness, and spiritual peace.

Four Soils

Seed among path or wayside (13:4, 18-19).
This is seed that remains on the surface and never penetrates the ground; it is packed down and hardened. People and animals trample on the seed so it fails to take root to sprout or grow. Additionally, birds chirp and chow on the seed, having a convenient meal at the farmer’s expense. 

This type of person can be described as a Callous Heart. The person does not fear God nor is familiar with God’s word. They are indifferent and uncomfortable, if not resistant to faith conversations.

When most people hear “Satan” they think of a mythical man wearing a red suit and pitchfork in hand. This cannot be farther from the truth. The Bible presents Satan disguised as an angel of light, a trickster and deceiver, and a ferocious predator who prowls like a roaring lion. In this case, a bird or vulture of culture devouring the seeds of God’s word.

Specifically, Satan is present with those who sow the seeds of Scripture. Satan knows the power and impact of God’s word and will do everything possible to vulture the vision of evangelizing with the gospel and making disciples.

• Distractions during church
• Doubts personal conversations
• Difficulty of private devotion… tired, stressed, worried, shame & guilt from sin, or simple misunderstandings.
• Dangers of persecution… consider the church around the world yet it thrives bc nothing is stronger than God’s word and the humble boldness of God’s people.

• If you know a callous heart, keep planting and pressing and trusting God to break through.
  *In 1912, medical missionary Dr. William Leslie served in Democratic Republic of Congo.[3] After 17 years, he returned to US discouraged and believing his missionary work was a failure. He died a few years later. Almost 100 years later, a new mission team traveled to same remote jungle area, unknowing of Dr. Leslie’s missionary work. They took a small Cessna plane 2.5 hours east, hiked miles into the jungle, traversed a ½ mile wide river in a dugout canoe and hiked another 10 miles and reached another village. And they found a network of reproducing churches who wrote their own gospel songs to God. There were churches in 8 different villages across 34 miles. The tribal people did not know the name of the missionary, only that he was a Baptist and arrived early 1900s. When the aviation missionaries returned home and researched, they discovered Dr. William Leslie served this region for 17 years.
  *At a prior church, I knew a wife and mother of 3 teens whose husband didn’t attend church. She prayed and sought for 17 years for husband’s salvation. Through circumstances, the husband received Jesus and was baptized. Mom said, “I’m thankful I never gave up.”  
  
  
• If you know you are a callous heart, realize there are interests that you are open and soft. So, realize your closed-mindedness toward Christianity is not about you but spiritual warfare. You’re in a war and don’t even know it! Consider your coldness to Jesus and

Seed among stony or rocky ground (13:5, 20-21).
This seed appears to take root but only superficially. We should not envision the farmer sowing seed on gravel, but shallow soil with limestone rock below the surface. The shallow soil would produce the initial warmth and moisture for quick germination of the seed. However, due to the heat and pressure of the sun, the seed quickly withers away. The young plant showed much potential and promise but disappeared entirely.

This person can be described as a Counterfeit Heart. The person maybe gets baptized or joins a Bible group, or begins serving. But the excitement and shine fades. God’s Word stays on the surface in this person’s heart and they never mature spiritually. When trouble or persecution comes their true spirituality is shown. The point is that the test of time, hardship and challenge prove spiritual growth.

Christians must be careful to not stay shallow but call for one another’s spiritual growth. Shallow soil is only sharing the portion of the gospel that forgives sin but does not call individuals to also follow Jesus. Along with the blessings of salvation by grace, Christians are called to take up a cross and follow Jesus (Mt 16:24-26), gouge out items that hinder our vision and amputate attachments that steer us away from holiness (Mt 5:29-30), and we are told that we must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God (Ac 14:22). Being a disciple of Jesus means we count the cost, or we too will be deemed another hypocritical and counterfeit Christian.

• If you know someone’s faith who seems counterfeit, don’t try to guilt them & re-grow what never took root. Instead, re-plow the ground w/ sincere love & re-plant the seed w/ God’s truth. 
• If you are that counterfeit heart, what are the rocks needing removed to prepare good soil?

Seed among thorns (13:7, 22).
Again, this seed seems to take root in the soil. But the plant’s root system is connected to weeds and thorn bushes. The healthy plants grow but do so in competition with the weeds and thorns. Weeds and thorns are feisty survivors, and if consistently unchecked, they will choke out healthy plants and consume the ground.

This person can be described as a Cluttered Heart. God’s Word enters a person’s heart but the priorities, commitments and other environment factors of life prevent them from really growing spiritually. Jesus says, “the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word and it proves unfruitful.” Additional cares like the friends you have, priority of activities, choices we make all effect our spiritual growth. The “thorns” of life cause us to choose whom and what is our ultimate master.

• Thorns come to a sharp point and hurt when you touch them. The thorns in our life are items we care about and hurt when we must reposition our interaction or remove from them all together.
  Is there anything in your life that first glance seems vital to you, but God’s glare reveals a level of idolatry?

• Unfortunately, we cannot remove every weed or thorn (Mt 13:24-30); they must grow with us in a Gen3 world. Yet, we can choose to feed what we need to grow. Are you feeding the right areas you need to grow?
  “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will reap eternal life.” (Galatians 6:7-8)

Seed among good soil (13:8, 23).
This seed takes root deep into the soil and is enriched by its environment. It is likely the soil was prepared and ready to receive the seed. There was no competition with other plants for space or food to grow. The seed bears fruit with remarkable productivity. It not only grows but it multiplies with abundant return on labor. 

This person can be described as a Compliant Heart. God’s Word enters this person’s heart because they are humble enough to listen and learn. They persevere learning from difficult circumstances and trying times (James 1:2-4). They rely on God to produce the results instead of doing so on their own. And their fruit spreads near and far for others to enjoy. It is likely this fruit relates to both inward character (Gal 5:22-23) and outward influence of making disciples.

It is also important to note that the good soil does not represent people who are perfect. Christians are not sinless saints; they are progressing toward the image of Christ in character, in conduct, and in competency of service to God’s kingdom. Like gardening, some seasons will yield much and other seasons will be a struggle. But when we stop tending the soil and allow it to become dry, crusty, trampled and hardened, then we cannot blame God for our lack of fruit. The excuse, “Nobodies perfect” is often code for “I don’t want anybody pointing out my sin.” This should never be in the Christian life.

• Good soil to receive the seed and bear fruit is the result of “hearing the word.” The verb “hear” appears 11x in Matthew 13.

How do we hear God?

• Scripture reading. Most of us know how to grow in faith but we don’t do it because we resist relationships. We want the microwave instantaneous fix, and if we need to invest time or discipline, then we bristle.

• Teaching. There are numerous teachers – from tv, radio, to podcasts, to churches – much is available to us to learn and grow. But one of the challenges we have today is that people value the program over personal. People will listen to a public program of teaching but when it comes to the personal nature of applying Scripture to specific life areas, then again, people bristle.
  Heb 13:7 “Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith.”
  Jn 9:31-32 “Jesus said, ‘If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
• Circumstances. Many have difficulty discerning God’s speaking and activity in their life because they have not been walking with Him. So, their faith is muffled with weeds and strangled with thorns, and they Holy Spirit’s voice is subdued. Jesus’ sheep knows His voice; are you listening to the Lord?

APPLY/THINK

Matthew 13:53-58 ⁵³ And when Jesus had finished these parables, he went away from there, ⁵⁴ and coming to his hometown he taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works? ⁵⁵ Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? ⁵⁶ And are not all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” ⁵⁷ And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household.” ⁵⁸ And he did not do many mighty works there, because of their unbelief.

The aim of Jesus’ teaching, or Bible study is not just awareness but awe.
This week our family obtained a rental car bc our van is in shop due to accident. When kids entered car their first words, “I love that smell.” The new car smell makes us awe, but we lose it due to familiarity. Like villagers growing up with the boy Jesus, we think we know God and we fail to see His holiness and authority. The only way to regain awe is to consider the cross – Jesus did not deserve to die but willingly laid His life down due to love. If that doesn’t make you awe… you will miss lasting freedom and true love.

The aim of Jesus’ teaching, or Bible study is not just awareness but awe. The only way to regain awe of God is to consider the cross of Jesus Christ.

---

[1] I have preached from this chapter before but Jesus’ teaching style is a vital component to His life and ministry. Additionally, the parable of the sower is relates to us at various points of life that it’s necessary to repeat reflection.  

^[2] Leon Morris, Pillar NT Commentary: Matthew 13:3 

[3] https://orality.net/content/missionary-died-thinking-he-was-a-failure/