Sow where you go   8-10-08  

Couple things to add.  Soil s can change.  What was a nasty garden plot can produce vegetables and so can a heart that was once unreceptive to the gospel message. So even though your friends and family members are not receptive now, keep praying for them working the soil and someday they to will grow and produce a crop. 

The seed is the word and it never changes but how we heard, which type of soil, make all the difference. 

Plants that sprung up quickly because, but withered as the first sing of trouble.  Were they Christians to start with?  Wheat is wheat so I’m incline to say yes they let the worries of life rob them of their joy and their Christian witness has been nullified.  Satan would like everyone in this room to be like the wheat which sprung up on the rocky patch.  Our house in Glencoe was like this there was 2 inches of soil over solid rock.  If we wanted to grow anything we had to bring in soil. 

There is the thorny soil. No one would waste seed planting a thorn patch, but thorns grow up in your fields if you don’t keep them weeded, and they grow faster and are more vigerious than almost every plant.     CHOKING COWS DOWN  so too are the problems we face in life.  A hundred things can be going great, and one problem comes up, and instead of saying well I’m sure glad all the bills are paid, the kids are healthy, I love my wife, she loves me back. No we lay awake at night worring about, If your 401K’s need to be moved into another type of mutual fund. What did Dorthy mean when she said? Does Paul like me?  Worries rob us of our sleep. Are they Christians? Not my place to judge that, and only God knows the heart. I’m just a fruit inspector.  But don’t let worries rob you of your fruitfulness as Christians.  I’m not talking apples and oranges fruit, I’m talking about the fruit of the spirit, the love, joy, peace, patiences, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self control kind of fruit. If your life is choked with worry, love of money, love of pleasure, you won’t be bearing much fruit.  You’ll be like those wild cows that let us cowboys do whatever we wanted to them  

Good soil is the noble and good heart.  The bible declares there in none righteous no not one. 

So I think it is safe to say Jesus is not talking about perfection here but the four charastice of a good heart are given. 1^st people with a good heart hear the word.  2^nd they retain the word, 3^rd they preserve the word, and 4^th they produce a harvestable crop.  These people not only hear the word but it become part of them, they retain the word, they assimilate it into their very being.  And produce a crop.  What kind of crop? Two fold. One should be in your personal life are you growing in grace and knowledge. Are you understand more of what it means to be a Christian?   Are you acting in love towards your brothers, how about towards your enemies? 

Couple purposes I see when I look at the parable of the sower. First is see it as a incouragement to the seed throwers, the sowers, hence the title for todays message sow where you go. We never know when the seeds we throw will produce a good crop.  Throw it everywhere and if you throw enough some will grow.  Sometimes we think that every single seed should grow, but this is not realistic, but don’t be discourage we will reap a harvest in due season, if we do not grow weary. The second point of this parable is aimed at us to do a little self examination to stimulate us to examine our own ability of hearing the word.  This chapter in Matthew contains 7 more parables and if we are to understand and grow by hearing them we need to have our ears turned on if we are going to gain any insight into the mysteries of heaven.  Listen as we scatter the seed. Does it sound like it is hitting on glass.  Take the shouvel and turn over the soil is it soft and ready for planting.  Examine your own life is the word changing you into the image of Christ.  Have the bad qualities of your fallen sinful nature become less as beautiful qualities of Christ become more. Has  the seed of the word taken root in your heart and are you producing a crop a hundred times greater.  It seems to go this way when the soil has been prepared the seeds just take off. 

So sow as you go  and make sure that the same seed you scatter finds fertile soil in your own life.