Good evening.  Well, today has been a long and exhausting day.  After church this morning, we headed to Grayson for Summer In The Son.  On Sundays, you have the whole day to do whatever, so we went to the lake for some swimming and a picnic.  I stayed there for most of the day, and then headed back here for tonight, needless to say, I am tired already.  After service, I will be headed back over to Grayson for the rest of the week.

As we continue tonight though, we come to our first look at one of the parables.  As a reminder, remember that Jesus went around teaching and preaching the gospel of the kingdom of heaven, but He did not always find a receptive audience.  Even when Jesus did miracles and mighty works, some people refused to listen believe Him.

Some people even tried to trick Him so that they may have reason to accuse Him of wrongdoing and have Him arrested.  It was for this reason that Jesus began to speak and to teach the public using parables.  The problem Jesus faced was that although many people heard the message, they did not REALLY HEAR the message.

Before we look at the parable, let’s just open our time with a word of prayer

Before we go on, who in your families has the “Green Thumb”?

How are you at making things grow?

Well, if you are like me, when it comes to growing things and working with plants, you just hope that no one ever gives you any.  That way you don’t have to deal with it.

Well, to illustrate the fact that some people heard the message, but didn’t really hear the message, Jesus told a parable known as “The Parable Of The Sower”.  Go ahead and turn with me to Matthew 13.  In this parable, Jesus shows us that 2 people can have the same things said to them or the same thing happen to them, yet they react differently and have different results from it.

So, we have the parable of the sower, which by the way is one of the parables that can be found in 3 of the four gospels.  It is here in Matthew 13, but also in Mark 4, and in Luke 8.

Well let’s go ahead and read the parable.  In Matthew 13:1-9 it says, “1”

Now that last part of the parable when Jesus says, “He who has ears, let him hear” is Jesus’ way of saying pay attention this is important.  This parable must have been important to have shown up in 3 of the gospels, so what does it mean?

In fact this parable is so important, that in Mark 4:13, after telling the disciples this parable, Mark record that Jesus said, “Do you not understand this parable?  How then will you understand all the parables?”

I get the feeling that this is an introductory parable to get the disciples ready to understand things in the way that Jesus is going to teach them.  So let’s look at this.

What 4 kinds of soil does Jesus mention?    (Path (hard), Rocky Places, Thorns, Good Soil)

What happened to the seed in each of these soils?  (Path= Bird ate it, Rocks= Sprang up quick, but then burnt up in the sun, Thorns= Choked out by the thorns, Good Soil= became fruitful and productive)

Now, as you listen to the initial description of the 4 kinds of soil, which of them best describes your response to the gospel for the first time?  (path or hard, rocky, thorny, good soil)

Let’s go ahead and read the next section.  In Matthew 13:10-17 it says, “1”

This passage of scripture goes back to explain why Jesus used parables, and since we looked at that already, and this part of the text was pretty self explanatory, let’s move on and see how Jesus Himself explained the parable of the sower.

Here in Matthew 13:18-23 it says, “1”

Okay, let’s look at a few things here.  First, let’s look at the Sower.  In Jesus’ explanation of the parable, He didn’t specifically identify the sower, but in His explanation of some of the other parables that we will look at later, He says that the sower is the Son Of Man.  So it is very likely that the sower in this parable is Jesus as well.

It would also be accurate to apply the title “sower” to anyone who faithfully proclaims the message of God.  You see, when we tell others about God or about what He has done in our lives, we are about the Father’s business, so we could be considered sowers.  We are telling others about the message of Jesus.

Now, let’s look at the explanation of the seeds.  In verse 19 we find that the seed is the message of the kingdom or the Word of the Kingdom.  The seed is sown when we talk about salvation, or pray with others, or do anything that the Bible commands us to do.  When we talk with others about scripture and the life that Jesus lived, we are sowing the seed.

Then it has to land on soil, and as we look this evening, there are 4 kinds of soil.  First, The Pathway.  This soil represents someone who has heard the Word or the message, but does not understand it.

Second, is the Rocky Places.  This soil is someone who hears the word  or the message gladly, but they are not rooted in the word, and when the problems of life come their way, they fall away.

Third, is Among The Thorns.  This is the person who receives God’s Word, but never bears any fruit for God because they let the cares of the world and the pursuit of material possessions choke out the Lord’s influence in their lives.

And fourth, The Good Soil.  This final soil represents people who hear God’s word, understand it, and bear fruit for their Heavenly Father.  These are the people who hear, understand, and apply what they hear.

So, now that we have an explanation of these parables from Jesus, let’s apply this to our lives.  First, what are some of the thorns and rocks in you lives that tend to choke out and kill your spiritual life?

Okay, how would you describe the root system of your spiritual life right now?  Would it be pretty shallow, growing, strong and deep, really dry, getting tangles with weeds, or some other way?

What steps could you take to improve the soil of your spiritual life?

Well, here are some neat things that I found this week as ways of improving your spiritual soil.

One way would be to plow it up and start over.

Another would be to allow troubles to be fertilizer rather than just rocky times.

Another idea would be to uproot the thorns of the worries and desires of this world.

A great idea is to have a refreshing devotional life.

And finally, surround yourself with rich soil of a spiritual community.

Okay and the last group of questions for tonight, What do parables accomplish that simple and direct speech lacks?  Why was it easier to understand the passage of scripture in this form as opposed to if Jesus would have just told you the explanation? (A parable places the known next to the unknown in order to learn.) (It is an earthly story with a heavenly meaning.)

Well, as we close, hopefully your heart could be described as good soil.  God’s word has taken root in your life.  One way to tell if it has taken root is to check the “Produce Section” of your spiritual grocery store.  What is your fruit for God?  What is it that you do that is fruitful for His kingdom?  If you aren’t seeing a lot of fruit in your life, I want you to spend the next week trying to improve you crop and trying to better your fruitfulness for God.

Let’s Pray