Sermon for February 8

 The Parable of The Sower

Luke 8:4-15

    4When a great crowd was gathering and people from town after town came to [Jesus], he said in a parable: 5“A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the air devoured it. 6And some fell on the rock, and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. 7And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it. 8And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded a hundredfold.” As he said these things, he called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

   9And when his disciples asked him what this parable meant, 10he said, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God, but for others they are in parables, so that ‘seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.’ 11Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. 12The ones along the path are those who have heard. Then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. 13And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of testing fall away. 14And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. 15As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience.”

 

God says in Isaiah 55: "So shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
    it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
    and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it."

 

You ever wish you could say that? “My word shall accomplish that which I purpose.” How frustrating it is when you’re trying to tell someone something very important and they just won’t listen!e I’m picturing the preschool teachers whose words often seem to return empty, as if no one heard a thing. The parents of teenagers who have just delivered powerful truth about life and the future, and those for whom the words were meant, respond with “huh?” The manager whose emails go unread by the staff; The healthcare worker whose advice and warnings go unheeded. The preacher who preaches to a congregation of ears attached to distracted minds.

 

We are going to meditate now on Jesus’ Parable of the Sower, but to start I wanted to hear again what God says about His word:  “It shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.” Whether people will listen or not, whether people will pay attention or not, whether people will believe it or not, God’s Word is powerful and good and true.

 

A sower went out to sow his seed.

 

 

The Parable (earthly story)	The Interpretation  (heavenly meaning)
The Sower	The Lord
The seed	Word of God
That on the path	Those who do not hear
The bird	The devil
That on the rock	Those who give up the faith In hardships
That among thorns	Those who give up the faith for earthly pleasures
Thorns	Earthly riches and pleasure
The good soil	Those who hear and bear fruit with patience
Hundredfold yield	life of faith-eternity with God

 

 

The Sower is the Lord and the Lord explains it for us that “The seed is the word of God.”

 

The Sower broadcasts his seed graciously, apparently recklessly. As he throws it out by the handful, some falls on the path where the soil has been beaten down by people and animals walking by. Birds come and the seed on the path is easy picking – the birds snatch it away.

 

So the Lord sends his word, graciously, recklessly into many places, into many ears but some won’t let it sink in. Some wont cherish that seed of the word and hold it dear. So the devil can snatch it away and there will be no growth, no faith.

 

You can see this in the generations of people. Parents won’t teach their children to pray. They won’t bring their children to church and Sunday school. Instead they will play games on Sunday. the sports field has far more children than the Sunday school. And the parents, “let these children decide for themselves when they grow up. Then, if they want to, they can go to church, they can hear about the Lord and His word then.”

 

But how can they decide rightly for themselves? There’s been no preparation of the soil. That particular spot of ground was never plowed. It’s has been left hard and impenetrable for the seed that is the Word of God. Jesus warning here is clear. He explains the meaning. Anyone can understand it. But so many don’t listen.

 

And some fell on the rock, and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture.

 

Jesus explains that this is about those who hear the word but give up the faith when hardships come. We all have hardships in life. And we have seen how others have it much worse. Hardships should drive a person to repent and ask for help from heaven above. But many times, especially if the sprouting faith is not well rooted, despair sets in. Instead of the hope of everlasting salvation, there’s only the expectation that it’s only gonna get worse and then we die.

And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it.

 

Jesus explains that this about those who hear the word but give up the faith for earthly pleasures. That’s a good way of looking at it. Chasing after riches, the love of luxuries, the excess of pleasures of the flesh are like thorns. Be careful of these thorns, they can get so thick they choke out everything else.

So the two extremes cause problems: Hardships or riches can both be fatal for faith. Poverty of money, poverty of health, poverty of social standing and you could give up the faith. But if you are rich with money, or rich with health, or rich with family and friends – such could choke out a weak faith.

Church doesn’t need to be the place to teach you how to be financially successful. Leave that to financial advisors and salesmen. Nor should this be place to discuss how to have a healthy lifestyle, diet and exercise. You can get that by listening and obeying healthcare experts. Actually much of the rest of your week can be consumed by pursuing financial and health goals. Our Lord  deemed it necessary to warn you against those very things that they not choke out what’s most important: faith. He warns you not to let your concerns about poverty or riches, sickness or health take over your life so much that there’s no room for God.

And then our Lord directs your attention to what is truly valuable, fruitful, and eternally good.

And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded a hundredfold.

 

Seed is sown. A crop grows. The word of the Lord goes forth. Faith grows. In the good soil of your life, your heart, faith grows. And faith is a productive thing. It produces hundreds of benefits. Hope for your future, patience amidst hardships, Love for God, and benefits good for your neighbor, love for your family, compassion for those who are suffering, encouragement for the friend who is struggling with faith.

You have received the seed of faith, that is the Word of God. The Word of Christ crucified and risen again for us and for our salvation. We are about to go into Lent. 10 days from now is Ash Wednesday. We will have extra opportunities to hear the word, to have it planted and have it grow.