The Sower, the Seed, and the Soils

The Sower, Seed, and Soils

Matthew 13:3-9; 18-23

January 25, 2015

 

In many ways chapter 13 is the pivotal chapter in Matthew.

     This is the a course told in seven parables concerning the Kingdom of Heaven in this present age.

     Matthew tells us first about the Kingdom, then the cross.

 

First...spoken of by John the Baptist, 3:2, 4:17.

Secondly...by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount, 5:3,10,19-20; 6:9; 7:21.

Third...to Israel in general, 8:11; 10:7; 11:11,12

Fourthly...begins in depth, explicit teachings on the Kingdom of Heaven in this present age.

     In Matthew 13 Jesus teaches seven parables to explain what the Kingdom of Heaven is like in this present age.

 

Jesus was the Master Teacher and He often used parables...an earthy story with a heavenly meaning. 

     Using everyday objects, events, and circumstances to illustrate a spiritual truth. 

     A parable creates interest and makes the truth easier to understand and remember. 

     A brilliant method of teaching because it us think about the truth in terms we are familiar with,...with word pictures.

 

Such ordinary things as lamps, grapevines, and mustard seeds were used to communicate divine truths.  Here, Jesus used farming as an illustration.

 

Matthew 13 is the natural starting point because this parable illustrates how the Kingdom of Heaven begins,...with the preaching of the Word of God illustrated by the sower.

     These parables also shows us the essential difference between the Kingdom of Heaven and the Church.

 

Depending on your mindset and what you have set your heart on, the parables with either reveal the truth to you or conceal the truth from you. 

     The Kingdom begins with preaching the word of God, everywhere.    

 

In the parable there is one sower, and one kind of seed.  This solitary sower sows the same seed in four different kinds of soil: 

     the wayside,  the stony ground,  the thorny ground,  and the good soil.

 

Understand the picture and culture of the time.  We usually clear the ground, plow it, disc it, then plant it.

     In that day the farmer would sow the seed liberally, and everywhere knowing that the seed would fall on the pathways, stony  and thorny places.  Then he would plow it into the ground.

 

The sower sowed good seed everywhere.  The great lie today is that some believe we should keep contain our preaching and teaching inside the church.  The world would be very happy with that.

     But Jesus leaves the synagogue and temple and takes the gospel of the kingdom to the seashore, and rural areas.

     That’s why we send missionaries into the whole world, but also to nursing homes, jails, camp grounds, and truck stops to name just a few.  Anywhere there are people we are to sow the seed.  And expect that not everyone is going to be interested or open to the message.

 

The sower is not the Lord (He is the king) but he is anyone who shares his or her faith. 

     The sower is good because he sows everywhere liberally,..he’s a witness everywhere he goes.

The seed is the same seed, and it contains life.  It is the Word of God.

The soils represents four different kinds of soil,...the heart of the hearer is like the soil,...capable of improvement and producing good fruit.

 

V. 15  The Wayside Hearer...The hard heart and closed mind.

     The seed sown here doesn’t take root because it can’t. 

     They have come in contact with the church, Christians, and have even heard the Word, but they’ve never experienced either.

     The devil gives them the excuse they need and any excuse will do.  “I was made to go when I was a kid, I’m just as good as they are, hypocrites in the church, ” etc.

V. 16, 17  Th Stony Ground Hearer...hears and gives a shallow, temporary response

     Not soil full of rocks, but a shelf rock under a thin layer of soil.  The sun heats the rock, the seeds quickly germinates and quickly grows up, but the roots cannot grow down deep into the soil and it soon withers and dies.

     This person is “on fire” for the Lord at first, but soon fall away because there was no depth to their experience.  It was all show.

     They did not develop the fruit of the Spirit Gal. 5:22,23, and they are soon gone.  Not to another church, just gone. I Jn 2:19

     Maybe they were easily offended, ridiculed, or God didn’t come through for them, but the result was the same.

     ILLUS...Man at Anaconda; preached in the break room, carried his Bible to work, soon fell away.

 

V. 18,19  The Thorny Hearer...Receives the seed, and other things too.  Thorn seeds that crowd out and choke the Word of God.  Grows higher than the good seed, hogs the sun, the moisture, and the minerals in the soil and the good plant dies from lack of nourishment, draws insects and disease...and like weeds in a garden, can’t even find the fruits and vegetables which are stunted.                 

     I Jn 2:15,16...Caring more for the things of the world will choke out the good seed.

 

V. 20  The Good Soil...a heart prepared to receive and accept the seed and allow it to take root in the life and produce good fruit.

     This “ground” has been broken up, cleared of stones and thorns, cares, deceits, and lusts.  Ready to hear and obey the Word of the Lord.

     The soil, or the heart of a man alone cannot produce the godly harvest, the seed must be planted in the heart to produce.

     Not all the soil is productive, but the good soil makes up for the unproductive soil, 30, 60, 100 fold.

 

I Cor. 3:6..."I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase."

     The sower cannot give eternal life, or even make the seeds grow.

     The Lord calls us to do three things: Receive the Word, Obey it, and bear fruit,...and to sow widely

    

 

 

 

 

 

       

 

 

 

A Study in the Book of Job     Part 10

Job 14

 

Job continues talking to God and ask why He is so unrelenting to someone who is fleeting and weak.  He begins chapter 14 with one of the most widely quoted verses in the book of Job.  Perhaps so, because so many can relate to it.

 

V. 1-6...This chapter opens with another reflection of the brevity and misery of life.  Job uses a poetic paradox to describe life, a few days and full of trouble. 

     “Since life is so short and troublesome, Lord, why not let us live out our few days in peace?”  It doesn’t seem fair, Job knows that he is not sinless, but neither is he guilty of the great sins he’s accused of.  As Job talks with God he seems to swing back and forth between hope and despair. 

 

     v. 2 Man is like a flower which springs up in beauty, but is soon cut down.  Or, as a shadow which lasts just a little while and is soon gone.  

 

    v. 3 Nevertheless, God is keeping His eye on Job to bring him into judgment at a later date.

 

V. 7-13...Another image, and the strongest yet, is that of a tree.  Cut a tree down so that only the stump remains and there is always the possibility that it will sprout and grow again.  The tree has hope of living again, but man does not, Heb. 9:27. 

 

     v. 11  Man is more like water than a stump.  Water soaks into the ground or evaporates and is gone, II Sa. 14:14. 

 

     v. 12  Once a man lies down in death, he will never rise again to physical life. 

          Note: Remember, the Believers in Job’s day did not have the full revelation of future life that we have in Christ, II Tim. 1:10.   To them death is the end of life, but not the end of existence as the soul would be consigned to Sheol; the underworld, the realm of the dead from which there was no escape.

     There are Old Testament passages which speak of the resurrection such as, (Ps. 16:9-11; 17:15; Isa. 26:19; Dan. 12:2) but Job did not have any of these books because he lived before they were written. 

 

     v. 13  Job is wishing that God would allow him to repose peacefully in the grave until His wrath was past, then raise him to life again.  Job isn’t thinking about a spiritual resurrection, but a physical resurrection so he could be vindicated before his enemies. 

 

V. 14,15...Job doesn’t know if this is possible or probable so, he asks the question, If a man die, shall he live again?  If this could possibly be the case, then Job could live happy in this assurance that he would be relieved from the servitude of death like a soldier relieved from his post.  When God called, like an obedient soldier Job would answer.

 

     Job still doesn’t know which way to turn, and it’s as if he is talking to two gods; one who had abandoned him and the other who longed for his companionship so much that he would bring him back from the dead.

 

     Note: Later on in 19:25-27, Job will make a grand statement about the resurrection, but for now he is still wrestling with that question.

 

V. 16, 17...Now Job turns back to the matter at hand and complains that God had counted every bad step (or, decision) he had ever made and had taken note of every sinful act he had ever committed.  And that God had sealed and sewed them up so as not to lose track of them until the time that Job could be properly judged and punished. 

 

V. 18, 19...Man’s hope was in grave doubt.  After all, if the mighty mountains could be destroyed, how much hope is there of a frail, weak man?  Just as the waters wear away stones, the judgment of God will wear away any hope that man has.     

 

V. 20-22…A man does not even have the pleasure and knowledge of knowing whether his sons have attained success and honor in adulthood because he isn’t there to witness it. 

 

The chapter ends with Job’s fatalistic and dismal pronouncement that nothing awaits man but pain and mourning.  Two world views are contrasted here. 

     (1.) The secular or worldly view is that people suffer intense pain and grief and if there is a god, he doesn’t care or is too distant to notice or care.  “We are on our own and must grin and bear it to persevere.“ 

     This fatalistic attitude gives rise to many unscriptural philosophies such as, Que sera sera...whatever will be, will be; and eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die..

 

“Hope is the worst of all evils, because it prolongs the torments of man.”

-  German philosopher and atheist Friedrich Nietzsche 

 

     (2.) The New Testament gives the Believer a real hope,…Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost, Rom. 15:13.

     ...and that, through faith in Christ, our sorrow will be turned to joy and despair and death  will not have the last word.  Death will be swallowed up in victory!  I Cor. 15:55-57

 

 

Thus in this first cycle of speeches from Job’s friends they are very critical and insist that Job is suffering because of grievous and unconfessed sins, although these sins were unknown to them.  They just presumed that he had sinned because he was suffering.  Little does Job realize it, but the second cycle of speeches from his so-called counselors will be even harsher than the first!

 

 

 

The Trusting Heart

The Trusting Heart

Proverbs 3:5,6

 

Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not

to thine own understanding.   In all thy ways

acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

 

To the Hebrews, the “heart” signified the center of the being; the spirit, soul, and body, (I Thess 5:23) and the source of actions.

    

We are to trust God not only for salvation, but also direction in our lives.  So, trusting the Lord with ALL our heart means that we trust Him with all we have and with all that we are. 

     To trust Him in good times and bad, when the path ahead seems bright and when it is dark and uncertain, Rom. 8:28.

     Many times, it is not meant for us to understand and be in control of everything,...but God does always mean for us to trust Him in everything.  The alternative is to trust ourselves and lean on our own understanding.

 

If there is one thing the book of Job teaches us, it is that saving faith cannot be broken by tragedies, and even if we had all the answers (Why do good people suffer? e. g.) what makes us think we could understand God’s ways which are past finding out?

     Job asked God to explain to him why he was suffering, but God said “No, I’m not going to explain it to you, but I will reveal to you my creative power and infinite wisdom.”

 

When we look at God’s resume it becomes easier to trust Him. Acts 17:24-31...God is the: Creator of all things, Giver of life, Governor of man’s boundaries, Sustainer of life, Commander of worship, Judge of all mankind, the one who raised Jesus from the dead. 

     God’s promises are activated by obedience, and obedience is activated by faith, Ps. 37:4,5; I Jn. 3:22.

 

The Lord delivered the Hebrews from Egyptian slavery by ten mighty plagues, instituted the Passover, conducted them safely through the Red Sea and drowned the army of Pharoah therein.  God promised them the land Canaan, and now all they had to do was trust Him for guidance through the wilderness.

However, instead of trusting the God who did all this and more for them, they complained at every turn.  As a result, an entire generation did not enter into His rest.  In fact, they became angry when God tested them in the wilderness.

 

     Marah...Ex. 15:23-27  God sweetened the bitter waters and made a promise, then led them to an oasis of Elim.

 

     Wilderness of Sin...Ex, 16:1-4  When they complained, God rained bread from Heaven.  Manna means “What is it?”

 

     Masah and Meribah...Ex. 17:1-7  God provided water from the rock of Horeb.  The names Masah and Meribah (v. 7) mean “testing and quarreling”.

 

     Kadesh-Barnea...Num. 13,14   God brought them to the border of Canaan, but they refused to go in.  They were made to wander in the desert for another 40 years until that disobedient generation died off.

 

Psalm 95:7-11; Hebrews 3:8-15  Using the Exodus experience and the Hebrews’ rebellion as an illustration, the writer of Hebrews warns these Jewish converts to Christianity to keep going on with God and do not turn back to the old Judaism.

     Do not rebel as the Hebrews did in the wilderness. 

     Provocation is the rejection of grace.  We are to be swift to hear, (obey). 

     Disobedience and rebellion keeps us from growing in grace and spiritual knowledge, and denies us the rest God wants to give us, Ps. 95:10,11.

    

In Hebrews, the rest that God had prepared for His chosen people consisted of rest:

     - from their wandering in the wilderness,...a home

     - from the oppression of their enemies,...safety and security

     - from anxiety and worry,...peace and prosperity.

 

Only unbelief kept them from enjoying the rest God wanted to give them.  Unbelief will also keep us from enjoying the blessings  of God.   The remedy for unbelief is our text, Prov. 3:5,6.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    The Final Farewell      

                     II Timothy 4:13-22                               

January 18, 2015

 

Try to put yourself in Timothy’s place.

     You’re a young pastor in a pagan city and your church is in turmoil.

     Your mentor is in a far away prison and is about to be executed.

     You’re reading his last letter and he is writing to encourage you in your work. 

 

But as he comes to the end of this letter Paul urged Timothy to come before winter, v. 21.

     All the ships would be anchored in port for the winter since it would be too dangerous for sailing. 

     If Timothy waited too long he would miss the opportunity to see Paul before his execution.

 

Paul was a great man, but he as still only human and there were some things he needed,...creature comforts to make his last days more tolerable.  He wanted Timothy to come so he could bring him:

I. His cloak v. 13...His physical need.  An outer garment much like a coat to keep him warm.

     Winter was coming on and a Roman jail was damp and cold and Paul needed his cloak to keep him warm.  This was his physical need.

 

II. His books and parchments, v. 13...His mental need.  Paul was an educated man and these were probably Old Testament scrolls and copies of some of the New Testament letters.  Perhaps the parchments were for him to write on. 

     For a preacher of the gospel to be faithful and succeed he must be a man who is willing to read widely and study deeply.

      He must be a life long student of the Bible and Bible-based, Christ-centered writings.  As well as secular writing and current events.  Learning cannot end at graduation. 

 

      A preacher who doesn’t read is no better off than the man who can’t read.

     Here is Paul,...a man who wrote much of the New Testament   

 

and he wants his books.  This was his mental need.

     Paul knows he’s going to die soon, but he wants his books.

Paul was an apostle (one sent with a message) who also remained a disciple (a learner).

 

We never outgrow our need to read and study the Bible,...never.

      No man (or woman) could possibly outlive the need for reading and studying the word of God. 

     There is a dearth of sound, biblical preaching today because many preachers have allowed lesser things crowd out the important things.  It’s so easy to download a sermon off the internet and regurgitate it.

     Worse yet, there are many so-called preachers who do not believe the Bible in it’s entirety, and have never read it through.

 

ILLUS...Dr. H. Leo Eddleman, when he felt called into the ministry, took a month off and read the Bible through slowly and deliberately.  He had to know for himself if there was anything in it that he couldn’t believe and preach.  At the end of the month he was satisfied that the Bible was all true and he preached it as such.  He became a missionary and preached the gospel in Israel in English, Hebrew, and Arabic.

 

I Tim. 4:13-16…Paul told Timothy to give attendance to reading, exhortation, and doctrine.  Paul set the worthy example.

 

 

III. The Lord’s Presence, v. 16-18...His spiritual need. 

When everyone else deserted him for fear of persecution in the Roman court, the Lord stood with him, v. 17.

     There were many times Paul felt the presence of the Lord:

          At Corinth, Acts 18:9-11

          In Jerusalem, Acts 23:11

          On the stormy sea, Acts 27:22-25

I’ll never leave thee, nor forsake thee, Heb. 13:5

 

 

     His friends forsake him, and he prays God will forgive them.

 

     His enemies arrest, try and condemn him, and he looks for ways to tell them how to be saved.

 

Paul was delivered out of the mouth of the lion.

Nero was famous for throwing Christians to the lions in  the coliseum in Rome. 

I Peter 5:8 says that Satan goes around like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour.

 

Back then trials were held not in a courtroom but publicly in the open air. 

     Paul has been publicly arrested, tried, and condemned before a large crowd, but he doesn’t see a crowd,...he sees a congregation!

     He thinks those folks came out to hear him preach, and preach he does!  ...so that all the gentiles may hear.

 

Paul turns defeat into victory by his last sermon.

     He‘s not bitter against God or even his captors,...but he wants to see them saved and the church at Rome strengthened.

     The point is that Paul had every confidence that the Lord would deliver him, but not necessarily from death, but through death to Heaven, v. 18.

 

     God may not chose to deliver us from every trial, but he has promised to be with us and deliver us through the trials   

 

Paul closes his book on death row and there’s not a hint of fear or regret,...just the calm assurance of deliverance and victory.

 

Paul leaves a great legacy of faith worthy of all to follow,...we need to leave the same legacy of faith for future generations to follow.

 

“God buries His workmen, but the work goes on.”

                                                                   - John Wesley