Sow-Sow Living: The Word, the Work, and the World!
Mark 4:1-20
Introduction: The preacher said, “…Of the making of many
books there is no end…” (Eccl 12:12). A lot of ink has been put to paper
discussing the mission of the church. Why are we here? What does the Lord
expect us to do? It is great to come together for worship and fellowship as we
do on Sundays. Times of more intimate fellowship and learning as in Sunday
School or community groups are good and encouraging. Is that the heart of it?
Those are certainly good and necessary things, and we’ll do them forever and
more fully in God’s presence one day. But what are we called to do now that we
won’t be able to do in heaven? Share the Good News, the Gospel of God’s amazing
grace, with the world! Remember Mark 1:14,15, after John the Baptist was
arrested, Jesus came into Galilee,“…preaching the gospel of
God, 15 and saying, "The
time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the
gospel..." That in a nutshell, from our
post-resurrection perspective, is our mission: calling people to repentance and
faith, and urging them to follow the Lord Jesus.
Jesus was a master teacher, and a part of what He did was use stories
from everyday life to communicate truth. The striking thing is, that Jesus taught the
multitudes, He interacted with the religious leaders, but even though His words
were backed up by the signs he did, relatively few believed. Remember,
the Gospels were written years after the cross and the resurrection. The
writers are telling us not only what happened then and there, but also are
writing to encourage and equip their readers (including us!). Remember Mark is presenting his gospel to
believers who are suffering for their faith.
He is offering hope by answering three questions: 1) Who is Jesus? 2)
Why did He come? 3) What does it mean to follow Him? Here Jesus uses a parable to tell his
followers what they will need to do. Rather than spending our time in the details
of the parable, we might do that on Wednesday night, I’d like to focus on the "BIG
Idea.”
Warren Wiersbe said “…when it
comes to sowing the seed of God's Word we are not instructed to find fertile
ground... We are only instructed to sow the seed as well as to nurture and
water those that take root in good ground…” Wiersbe is suggesting that
since we don’t know the condition of the ground, we should faithfully “sow the
seed” of the Word widely, knowing that in some it will take root and multiply.
That points us to…
The BIG Idea: God’s Word is Truth. How we respond
reveals the condition of our heart. We’ll see 3 “p”s in the pod of this passage:
1) The Purpose of parables… 2) The call to prepare our heart, and
finally, 3) encouragement to persevere in the mission…
I. The Purpose of Parables: They were intended to sift the wheat from the chaff… (10-12;
cf. Isa 6:9,10).
10 And when he was alone, those around him with the twelve asked him about
the parables. 11 And he said
to them, "To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for
those outside everything is in parables,
12 so that "they may indeed see but not perceive,
and may indeed hear but not understand, lest they should turn and be
forgiven."
I want to start in the middle of the passage,
between the parable and the explanation Jesus gives where Jesus talks about
“why” He taught in parables. The problematic part of the passage is especially verse 12, and the phrases introduced
by “so that” and “lest” (highlighted above). On a first
reading, the passage seems to call for understanding (by those with “ears to
hear”) when He speaks the parable (v.9), and then say that the secret of the
kingdom was opened to the twelve, but that the parables were spoken to hide the
truth from others. That can’t be it, can it? For background, let’s look at a couple of passages in Isaiah, first, Isa 55:9-11…
9 "For as the heavens are higher than the
earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your
thoughts. 10 "For as the
rain and the snow come down from heaven, And do not return there without
watering the earth, And making it bear and sprout, And furnishing seed to the
sower and bread to the eater; 11
So shall My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me
empty, without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the
matter for which I sent it.
As God’s Word goes out, it will
accomplish God’s purpose. Now, in the light of that passage, consider the text
of Isaiah that Jesus is quoting. The scene is right after Isaiah’s vision of
the Temple and the throne of God, surrounded by the Seraphim worshipping the
Lord, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts…” One of the angels takes a coal
from the altar and touches Isaiah’s lips as he is commissioned to bring God’s
message to the people. What would that message be? We read in Isaiah 6:8-10…
8 And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send, and who
will go for us?" Then I said, "Here am I! Send me." 9 And he said, "Go, and say
to this people: "'Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing,
but do not perceive.' 10 Make
the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes; lest
they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their
hearts, and turn and be healed."
That is unexpected! Notice a couple
of things. The prophet just a couple of verses earlier felt, unworthy, his
sinfulness laid bare before the holy God of the universe (6:5). However, once he
had experienced cleansing and been assured of forgiveness (6:6,7) he responds
immediately with readiness to do the will of His Sovereign King. Who will go? “Here am I, send me!” He is ready to do
God’s bidding even before God tells him exactly what that would be! That is
faith. I remember when I first got saved I wanted to be available to God. But,
I did put some limits on my availability as I prayed, “Lord, send me anywhere,
but not to Africa please, not to the foreign mission field, and ideally within
a 50-mile radius of home! I had a lot to
learn about trusting God! “Trust and
obey, there is no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey!” Isaiah
was ready, “I’ll go where you want me to
go dear Lord, I’ll be what you want me to be!” But notice the predicted
results of Isaiah’s preaching: hardened hearts,
“…'Keep on hearing, but do not
understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.' 10 Make the heart of this people
dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes…”
Why such hard language? Well, the
first five chapters of Isaiah were an indictment against Judah and Jerusalem
for their unbelief and unfaithfulness to the covenant. The nation, and
subsequent generations would learn through the painful experience of the exile
that God is holy, that He is a jealous God, that He requires the faithfulness
of His people. Isaiah would preach, exposing the unbelief of the nation. There
are also hints in the early chapters, and especially later in the book, of a
future restoration from the exile. Jesus applies this passage to his preaching
ministry before the Jews of His day. Why?
It was God’s plan to work through the hard hearts of the leaders and the
incomplete messianic expectations of the people, to accomplish His
purpose. The rejection of His message
would lead to the cross, and the cross would lead to his exaltation and the
accomplishment of His purposes. Isaiah asked, “How long O Lord?” Paul answers that question in terms of the nation
of His day and beyond: “…a partial
hardening has come upon Israel until the fulness of the gentiles comes in…”
(Rom 11:25b).
God’s Word, and specifically Jesus’ teaching in parables, will sift the
wheat from the chaff, it will separate the sheep from the goats. Jesus said “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and
they follow me…” God’s Word is
Truth. We don’t judge the Word, the Word judges us! How we respond reveals the
condition of our heart. So, the call is to…
II. Prepare your heart to receive the Word: the issue is the condition of the
soil, not the delivery of the seed… With this parable, as with all of the
parables, it is probably good to first turn the parable on ourselves and be
sensitive to the conviction it might bring. One writer said, “I know the hard heart. I know the shallow heart. I know the selfish
heart. I am working on the humble heart- With God’s help.” Can you relate?
I can.
Jeremiah 4:3 says, “Break up your fallow ground, and do not sow among thorns.” Hosea
uses similar language when he says
in 10:12 “Sow for
yourselves righteousness; reap steadfast love; break up your fallow ground, for
it is the time to seek the LORD, that he may come and rain righteousness upon
you.” Jesus may have had these passages, along with others, in mind as He
told the story of the Sower and the soils. Two of the four “soils” are
mentioned, the packed hard ground that the seed falls on and fails to take root,
soon to be carried away by the birds. And
also the risk of sowing among thorns which could grow up and choke out the new
life. It makes sense to ask ourselves
if we are consciously preparing our heart to receive the Word.
Let me ask you a
couple of questions. 1) What is Sunday morning like in your house? If you are single, are you up early on Sunday
morning, taking some time to pray and prepare your heart for worship? Do you
come expecting to hear from God? If you
are married, or have children at home, is it a happy, expectant time, looking
forward as a family not to the afternoon plans, but to being with God’s people
and worshipping Him together? What is Sunday
morning like for you? The second
question is: What is Monday morning like in your house? Everyday is important to God, and it should
be to us!
The attitude that describes a heart
prepared to receive the seed, the Word of God, is described in Colossians
3:16… “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly,
teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns
and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” There is intentionality there that
implies preparation, a longing to receive and submit to the truth of God’s
Word. It may be that if you come to
church and listen with openness and expectation, and at the end feel, “I just
didn’t hear God’s word!” that the fault is poor preaching. Sometimes the problem might be that we failed
to prepare our heart, we didn’t come listening, longing for the Word of
Life. The attitude God blesses, that expresses
fertile soil, waiting for the truth, is found in the opening of the Book of
Psalms, in the first verses of Psalm 1,
“Blessed is the man who walks not
in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the
seat of scoffers; 2 but his
delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night…”
These verses affirm the attitude of
an authentic Christ follower: longing for, seeking and submitting to the truth
of God’s Word. That is good soil, it
produces fruit. It gives life and it multiplies. God’s Word is Truth. How we
respond reveals the condition of our heart. So, stay faithful, and…
III. Persevere! Keep obediently sowing the Word of Life knowing that some will respond (v.8;20)! It may be that
this is the primary emphasis of Jesus in this context as He spoke this parable.
Remember, He had just chosen the twelve that He might “…send them out to preach…” (3:14) and soon, after more teaching and
miracles, He would soon do exactly that (6:7). Not all the sowing would be
successful, in fact, in the parable, three out of four of the seeds fall on
inadequately prepared soil and don’t bear lasting fruit. Could that reflect the
truth Jesus expresses when He says,
“Enter by the narrow gate. For the
gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter
by it are many. 14 For the
gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it
are few…” (Matthew 7:13,14).
When
it comes to sowing the seed of God's Word we are not instructed to find fertile
ground before we sow the seed. Why? Man's
heart is the soil, and we cannot know the inner condition of anyone's heart, God
alone knows that. We sow the seed, and then we nurture and water those that
take root in good ground. That is the process of “making disciples” that the Great Commission
refers to (Matt 28:18-20). We are
called to “Sow-Sow Living.” And I don’t mean that we are called to
mediocrity! We are called to sow, to be ready always, with gentleness and
respect, to give a reason for the hope that is in us. William Carey, the father
of the modern missionary movement, arrived in India in 1793 with a burden to
preach the gospel of Jesus Christ to those who had never heard the name. For
seven years he proclaimed the gospel message faithfully week after week, month
after month, with not a single native of India converted to Christ. Through
years of struggle and doubt, Carey was often discouraged but never defeated. To
his sisters back home in England he wrote:
"I feel as a farmer does about
his crop: sometimes I think the seed is springing, and thus I hope; a little
blasts all, and my hopes are gone like a cloud. They were only weeds which
appeared; or if a little corn sprung up, it quickly dies, being either choked
with weeds, or parched up by the sun of persecution. Yet I still hope in God,
and will go forth in his strength, and make mention of his righteousness, even
of his only."
Keep sowing! Be sensitive to
opportunities to guide the conversations in your day to day life to spiritual
things. And yes, listen for clues that the “soil” is receptive! It also means that we “sow” broadly, not
knowing the condition of the soil. Think about the people you encounter as you go
through life, at work or a school, shopping or at the gym, where ever. Give a
tract or a pamphlet. Remember, God’s Word is Truth. We are called to “sow sow living!”
We’ve been emphasizing the idea that
we naturally focus on the field in which we are immersed, that is also statistically the most responsive: 95% of
those who believe and eventually are connected with the church come primarily
through the witness or invitation of someone they know. The preacher might give
a gospel invitation to which they respond, but the ground has been prepared
through an ongoing relationship, the seed has been sown, and even watered, and
God gives life, He causes the growth. We’ve talked about praying for those 8-15
people in your close sphere of influence on a daily basis. Could it be, that God
who works through prayers would graciously “break up the fallow ground” so that
the seed of the Word would take root?
What is God saying to me in this passage? God’s Word is Truth. We don’t judge
the Word, the Word judges us! How we
respond reveals the condition of our heart.
What would God have me
to do in response to this passage? It seems to me that this parable invites two primary
areas of application. The first is, like the original hearers of Jesus, we
should ask “what kind of soil best represents my heart?” Do we “…long for the pure milk of the Word that we
might grow from it…”? The psalms open with the description of the righteous
man, who “…delights in the Law of the
Lord, and in His Law he meditates day and night…” Are we hungry for the
Word? Are we teachable? Or are we more interested in being entertained? God has
spoken, let’s pray for ears to hear.
Secondly, are we committed to
“Sow-Sow Living,” not mediocrity, but sharing the Word with those who so
desperately need to hear? Be encouraged, some will respond! Sow broadly, it is
God’s Word, it will accomplish God’s purpose.
I don’t want to go beyond the
intention of the parable, but could it be that some of the “pre-evangelism”
work that we have been talking about is something that God might use to prepare
the hearts of the people in our sphere of influence to receive the Word at the
proper time? Most foundational is the
importance of prayer. It is one thing to pray generally, “God bless my friends
and family.” It is even better to then focus our prayers, to name names, to
plead with God to open their hearts and to convict, and by His kindness to lead
them to repentance and faith. Let's embrace the mission. It’s a team effort, one plants, one waters, but
God causes the growth! AMEN.
Comments
Post a Comment