The Sower

INTRO:    Good evening. I will begin by telling you a story about little Johnny when he was quite young, about 3 years old. Little Johnny went with his dad to see a litter of kittens. When he got home he told his mother that, "There were 2 boy kittens and 2 girl kittens."
His mother asked him, “how do you know?" Johnny said, "Well, daddy picked them up and looked underneath, so I think it's printed on the bottom."

This evening we are going to look at a parable of Jesus which is unique. Unique in that Jesus himself explains the meaning of it. The parable of the Sower is the one we are going to look at in Mark 4.

We’re going to read quite a lot but just little portions at a time.
Mark 4:1-2 – “1. And again He began to teach by the sea. And a great multitude was gathered to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat in it on the sea; and the whole multitude was on the land facing the sea. 2. Then He taught them many things by parables, and said to them in His teaching:” [NKJV]. Let me stop there a minute. What an amazing sight that must have been. I imagine being in a large number of people sitting along the water’s edge and listening to the Master teacher speaking from a boat. What a pulpit that must have been to use. Jesus says, “Listen” and then goes on to share the parable with them in verse three through nine.

Mark 4:3-9 – “3. "Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. 4. "And it happened, as he sowed, that some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds of the air came and devoured it. 5. "Some fell on stony ground, where it did not have much earth; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of earth. 6. "But when the sun was up it was scorched, and because it had no root it withered away. 7. "And some seed fell among thorns; and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no crop. 8. "But other seed fell on good ground and yielded a crop that sprang up, increased and produced: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.'' 9. And He said to them, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!''”
Then Jesus said, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear." Interesting how Jesus starts the parable and how He ends the parable. He starts by saying, “Listen” and ends by saying, “He, who has ears to hear, let him hear."

Teachers understand this issue when giving a lesson. One of the frustrating things for a teacher is wondering if anyone is listening to what they’re trying to say. Come to think of it, that goes for parents too. Those of you who have had children will know exactly what I’m talking about. You tell your child not to do this or that because it might be harmful but they go ahead and do it anyway. You often wonder if they’re getting it or if they are even listening.

We reach the point where we say to them, “Didn’t I tell you not to do that? Am I just wasting my breath?” Then you get them to repeat what you have said. If you ask they may repeat what you said, but it’s pretty obvious that they didn’t really listen to you in the first place. They didn’t fully grasp it. I suspect that’s one of the reasons why Jesus’ catchphrase was, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear." He uses this several times as you will see as you study. It didn’t just mean listen to what I’ve just said. It means think about it, pay attention to what I’ve just said.

I. Now Jesus reveals something to His disciples in Mark 4:10-13 – “10. But when He was alone, those around Him with the twelve asked Him about the parable. 11. And He said to them, "To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; but to those who are outside, all things come in parables, 12. "so that 'seeing they may see and not perceive, and hearing they may hear and not understand; lest they should turn, and their sins be forgiven them.' '' 13. And He said to them, "Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables?”
A. Jesus said He speaks in parables so that He can reveal secrets about the kingdom of heaven. "Mystery" in the New Testament sense refers to a glorious truth long concealed but now revealed (Romans 16:25-26).
1. Jesus' statement here is that the parables were intentionally designed to leave some of his audience in the dark. The parable He just shared did exactly what the parable was designed to do. It split the people into two groups, those who were interested in truth and those who weren’t.
2. Verse 10 says; “But when He was alone, those around Him with the twelve asked Him about the parable” There were only a few that asked Him what the parable was about. Only a few people who were really interested in these truths. What Jesus is saying here when He quotes from Isaiah 6:9-10 is that, and I will paraphrase ‘My people can see and perceive, My people can hear and understand but they just don’t want to’. They don’t want to turn to God and be forgiven because their hearts are so far away from Me. They have always seen, they’ve always heard, but My people don’t want to listen and understand, because they are too stubborn.
3. Then in Isaiah 29:13 – “... the Lord said: "Inasmuch as these people draw near to Me with their mouths and honor Me with their lips, but have removed their hearts far from Me,” listen to these next words “and their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men,” A couple of chapters later in Mark 7:6-9 Jesus says; “6... "Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: 'This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. 7. And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.' 8. "For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men the washing of pitchers and cups, and many other such things you do.'' 9. And He said to them, "All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition.”
4. That brings to light more information about those who did not understand. Many just did not want to hear, they were too stubborn. Righteous in themselves... self-righteous. But there are others who had an agenda to keep things as they were. The religious leaders of the day. If Jesus had spoken plainly and unambiguously of being the Messiah and talked about the kingdom, the Pharisees could have accomplished His murder prematurely; therefore, it was of necessity that Jesus cloaked His teachings in those beautiful and humble parables, which in no sense hid His message from "ordinary people”," they being the very ones who fully understood him. The parables did, however, fully hide it from the proud, arrogant, unspiritual priesthood who organized against him.
B. Jesus asks those who are listening in Mark 4:13, "Don't you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable?” Jesus is saying this secret about the kingdom of heaven is so easy to understand. It’s so plain and obvious and yet do you understand it?
1. He’s telling them that they need to able to understand this parable so that they can go on and understand other parables He will teach them.
2. It’s much the same idea that Paul has when he says to the church in Corinth. 1 Corinthians 3:1-2 – “1... brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. 2. I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able;”
3. Jesus is going to teach them about the parables. What He is doing is essentially teaching them how to listen, how to learn. These few around Him wanted to know but they were yet babes and so He begins to explain in verse 14.
II. Mark 4:14-20 – “14. "The sower sows the word. 15. "And these are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown. And when they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts. 16. "These likewise are the ones sown on stony ground who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with gladness; 17. "and they have no root in themselves, and so endure only for a time. Afterward, when tribulation or persecution arises for the word's sake, immediately they stumble. 18. "Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word, 19. "and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. 20. "But these are the ones sown on good ground, those who hear the word, accept it, and bear fruit: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.''”
A. Jesus taught and explained the parable using an everyday life example. He uses the illustration of a farmer sowing his seed.
1. Let me plant something in your heads. Have you ever wondered why some people become Christians and then a little later they fall away? Or have you ever wondered why some people do not become Christians?
2. Every week the gospel is preached in the church. People attend every week and they hear the gospel of Christ being preached. They know what they need to do to become obedient to the Gospel, and yet it seems to happen so infrequently.
3. How come we don’t get people coming to Christ when the gospel is preached like they did during Biblical times? Maybe the best way to answer that question is by letting Jesus ask the question He was asking through this parable.
B. How could the scribes and Pharisees misrepresent God the way they did? How could the disciples and those listening not totally understand what Jesus was teaching? How could they not get it?
1. The way the word is being sown or being preached isn’t the problem. The problem lies with the way people receive the word. In other words those people who are honestly searching for the truth, it’s those people to whom the truth will become much clearer to.
2. Jesus said in Mark 4:3-8, "A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, some fell on rocky places, other seed fell among thorns and other seed fell on good soil.”[para]
3. In His explanation people are like the place where the seed lands. He’s talking about 4 different soils, which represent 4 different reactions or responses when the gospel is preached.
III. In Mark 4:15 Jesus tells them and us; “Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them.”[para]
A. Remember to whom the word of God is being preached. It’s being preached to sinners, people whose hearts have been hardened with sin over the years.
B. Jesus said that the birds are a picture of the devil himself, who comes down and takes the seed away. The reason the devil can so easily take it away is because the word of God makes no impression on these people at all.
C. They are so hardened in sin they don’t even understand the significance of the words being said. In other words, the path is hard and the seed has nowhere to plant its roots. They hear the gospel but don’t hang around long enough to find out what it means to them. When people are hardened with sin, they always think that whatever’s being said doesn’t apply to them.
D. Let me ask you this: What I’m saying today, does it apply to any of us? Remember in Acts 2 when Peter preached the 1st gospel meeting, 3000 souls asked, “Brothers what shall we do?” They wanted to hear more. Why? Because they understood that what Peter had just finished saying to them, applied to them. They killed the Messiah and they understood; they got it.
E. But remember, Peter also preached the gospel to thousands more on that day who didn’t want to know and his words landed on a hardened path. That’s what Jesus is talking about in the first part of the parable.
IV. Jesus says in Mark 4:16-17, “Other people, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away” [para].
A. I remember quite some years ago, the late Billy Graham would speak at big gospel meetings in football stadiums and thousands of people would turn up to hear what he had to say. At the end of the night he would always put an invitation out to people to come forward, ‘Confess Jesus as Lord and become Christians’. I don’t want to get into that because we know what’s right and what’s wrong about it, but what happened was many people would come forward and give their lives to Jesus on that night.
B. The problem was that a few days after all the excitement had gone, the troubles of life were remembered and they lost interest in Jesus. In other words, they heard the word of God, they accept it with gladness and joy but it gains no root within them.
C. Jesus says that they are OK for a while but as soon as any persecution or worry comes along from being a follower of God, they just give up. The word was planted in them and it tries to grow but the soil was lacking.
D. Mark 4:5 – “Some fell on stony ground, where it did not have much earth; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of earth.” In Luke 8:6 we read; “Some fell on rock; and as soon as it sprang up, it withered away because it lacked moisture.”
E. There are hearts out there that will receive the truth with great readiness and joy. Yet, when the heat gets turned up, these people fall away.
F. It is a concern when people become Christians without even studying the word of God first. I think people need to know and understand Who and what they are committing too. Whenever the heat of tribulation or persecution comes along because of the word of God, their delight in the truth just withers away and dries up.
1. With that in mind, let’s look at Luke 14:26-35 – “26. "If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. 27. "And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. 28. "For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it 29. "lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all who see it begin to mock him, 30. "saying, 'This man began to build and was not able to finish.' 31. "Or what king, going to make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? 32. "Or else, while the other is still a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks conditions of peace. 33. "So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple. 34. "Salt is good; but if the salt has lost its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? 35. "It is neither fit for the land nor for the dunghill, but men throw it out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!''”
2. Jesus is telling us; Listen, if we want to become a follower of Him, we need to think hard about it first. We are going to have to love Him more than we love our own family. We are going to have to carry our own cross and suffer like Jesus suffered. He says, we will need to put Him first, in front of everything else in our life.”
3. Again He says, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear." In other words think about it, think a lot about His words and after you have thought, think about it even more. Then He reminds us in John 16:33 – “In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”
V. Jesus goes on to describe another type of response to the gospel in Mark 4:18-19 – “18. "Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word, 19. "and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.” In the case of the seed that fell among the thorns, there is nothing wrong with the soil.
A. It’s not too hard like the seed that fell along the path.
B. There’s enough soil for the seed to take root unlike the seed that fell on a rocky place.
C. It’s not the soil that’s the problem. It’s what is in the soil around it. It’s the environment in which it is living that is the problem. We know one of the ways that Satan likes to attack God’s people is with worry. Worry is the greatest joy stealer there is.
D. Jesus says there are 3 things that steal your joy in the gospel as a Christian. He tells of 3 things that can stop you from becoming a fruitful follower of the word.
1. First, "The cares of this world". People are so caught up in this life that they forget about the next. They worry about their jobs. They worry about their homes. They worry about having enough money to get by. I know people who worry all the time.
i. We all recall what Jesus says in Matthew 6:25-34 so I’ll paraphrase; “Listen; do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear, who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” The Greek word we translate as “worry” or “thought” has the aspect of “being anxious”. When you are anxious, worrying, your mind is focused on the object of that care and not on God.
ii. In Matthew 6:33 Jesus says; “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” He is saying, listen, you’re a Christian you don’t need to worry about these things, just leave the worrying to the unbelievers.
iii. Peter tells us 1 Peter 5:7 – “casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.” Cast all your anxiety (your worries, distractions) on Him because He cares for you. Do we believe these verses? We do not always act like it.
2. Jesus tells us the 2nd thing that can stop us from becoming a fruitful follower of the word, "The deceitfulness of riches." The world’s biggest con these days is this, ‘get rich fast and you’ll be happy’. People say if I get that new car, I’ll be happy or if I get a new home I’ll be happy. In 1971 the campaign to have a lottery in Ohio began and succeeded in creating the Ohio lottery in 1973. The last I knew most states now have lotteries with the exception of Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii and Utah.
i. What happened that has caused most states to introduce a form of gambling, a lottery? It happened because there’s a demand. The world that is so commercial, people are lusting after the quick fix answer to their problems. They want a “get rich fast” answer to their problems.
ii. Riches are the fruit of the world. People are being deceived into thinking that material goods are the answer to life. The fruit of the Spirit is “love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” (Galatians 5:22-23).
iii. Material goods, wealth, are not the answer to life. John 14:6 “Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life.” The only answer to this life is Jesus Christ Himself. If you want answers about this life or the next then you need to look to Jesus, because He is the only one who has the answers.
3. The 3rd thing that stops us from becoming fruitful is, "The pleasures of this life." I believe we all like to have fun. There’s nothing wrong with that but the problem comes when the fun becomes more important than godly living. Also if the fun becomes sinful, then a problem comes in.
i. God has given us the gift of pleasure, which in itself can be innocent but we need to remember that the world’s idea of enjoyment can be totally opposite to God’s idea of enjoyment.
4. These 3 things or these 3 thorns that we have just mentioned are constantly in the environment that we live in everyday. What they do is smother and choke the word of God.
i. Jesus says, the reason that people don’t bear any fruit is because of these thorns. These things look promising. They look like they are going to bear fruit but they never do.
ii. Why? These thorns soak up all the moisture and nutrients that are in the soil. The world ends up with all our attention and God just gets the dregs or whatever is left. We become starved of the truth, which is found in the word of God, and that’s the point.
VI. Finally Jesus says in Mark 4:19-20 – “these are the ones sown on good ground, those who hear the word, accept it, and bear fruit: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.” Jesus says, “This is the soil I’m looking for, this is the kind of response to My words that I’m looking for.”
A. This soil is the total opposite to the 3 other soils mentioned. These are the people whose hearts are soft and tender. They received and cherished the seed, when it was planted. These people soak up the word of God. You’ll find them studying the Bible because they gain strength from it and go on to produce a crop of thirty, sixty or even a hundred times what was sown.
B. Jesus summarizes what was just said in Luke 8:15 “But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.” [para] They can see the world’s riches for what they really are. They guard themselves against worldly pleasures.
C. These people realize that God loves us so much that God wants us to cast all our anxieties onto Him. He cares for us. These people produce much fruit. They are people who are long distance faith runners, who are faithful to the end.
D. It’s to those people who Jesus says about the others in Mark 4:11 – “so that 'seeing they may see and not perceive, and hearing they may hear and not understand; lest they should turn, and their sins be forgiven them” In effect, “Do you want to know a secret?” Don’t be surprised when people don’t want to hear about Jesus. There’s a secret.
1. Don’t be surprised when people become Christians and only last a short time.
2. Don’t be surprised when people look like they are going to be great ambassador’s for Christ but they fall away.
3. The secret is this, don’t give up planting the seed, but persevere, we never know what kind of response we’re going to get. God’s word doesn’t vary but man’s heart does, the soil in which the word is planted does.
4. The nature of the response is dictated by the nature of the heart that receives it.

CONCLUSION:
I wonder how we see ourselves. How is your heart doing today? What will your response be?

If you’re not a Christian, are you going to let God’s word fall from your heart, or are you going to let God help you become a long distance faith runner because you want to know more truths from God’s word?

If you’re a Christian, are you going to continue to let the word of God dwell in you richly, so that you can let God produce much fruit through you, or are you going to go back to the crowd who are not interested in truth?

There’s no mistake folks, we control what does and doesn’t go into our heart. The biggest mistake we can make as Christians after studying His word is to look around us and say, “Yes, I know people who fall into one of those categories”. I know someone who didn’t last long as a Christian”. That’s not the point of the parable.

The point of the parable is to get us to look at ourselves—not around us. Is our heart-felt response to the gospel described in this parable? It’s about you. It’s not about the person sitting next to you. It’s not about the person who isn’t here today. It’s about you. How does it apply to you?

I pray the word fell on good soil. Yet, I know we must take our faith one day at a time because we do not know what tomorrow will bring. We are reminded in 1 Corinthians 10:12 – “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.” We must run this race in a constant and deliberate manner. The cares of this world, like weeds in the springtime, will spring up unbidden.

Let’s not judge each other with this parable. Let’s continue to encourage each other to remain faithful to the end and trust in God to help us produce the fruit He requires.

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We learn from the New Testament how to be saved. We need to hear the word; believe in Jesus; repent of our sins; we must confess our belief that Jesus is the Son of God; and be baptized for the remission of our sins... If we follow these steps, the Lord adds us to His church.

Perhaps there is someone in the assembly today with the need to be buried with Christ in baptism. If you have never done these things, we urge you to do so today. If anyone has this need or desires the prayers of faithful Christians on their behalf, we encourage them to come forward while we stand and sing.

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Taken from sermon by Mike Glover