The Sower, Seed and Soils - Our Responsibilities (Revival Services Preparation)

Now tonight I want to ask you to turn to Matthew chapter 13. So please take your Bible whether it's a Regular old hard copy or an electronic version and turn to Matthew chapter 13. I want you to have it open there We'll get there here in just a minute I think it's obvious to some of you that I'm pausing our study in the parables concerning judgment we actually have one more parable to study in our series of the Judgment perils parables and then that will cover all of the parables that were taught by Jesus Now some of you may not know this but we've been in a study of the parables taught by Jesus for really quite a while We first looked at the kingdom parables Then we moved to the Christian life parables and then we got into the salvation parables Then the wisdom parables and we're just about to finish the judgment parables Now I'm stepping away from this study for two reasons.

The first one is the most important First there's some things that I want us to study in preparation For what we would call our revival meeting this coming up starting this Sunday We have set aside quite a few worship services for what we make might call a revival meeting My friend Jason Johns who pastors a church and who is one of our partner churches and pastors He's going to be dealing with the theme of perseverance in quite a few areas of the Christian life Now what's the purpose of this type of a meeting? We want to be challenged We want to be corrected.

We want to be encouraged We may even need to be rebuked really all of the above and that can be considered spiritual revival and renewal and so as Individuals that is the church we're looking at the subject of perseverance and we're looking to be challenged encouraged Rebuked all of the above so as to be better Christians and a better church So there are a few things that I believe we need to study and do in preparation for these upcoming worship services and then second the last parable that we have Really and truly we need to deal with that in a part two and I want to leave us an adequate amount of time To study that last parable.

I'll go ahead and tell you the name of the parable. It's the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, there's a lot of truth sadly about hell that we need to study hell and judgment now many of you know what we have here in Matthew 13 we have the parable of the sower and Really and truly this parable can be titled quite a few things You could call this the parable of the sower the seed and the soils you could call it the parable of the seed Really and truly it probably should be called the parable of the soils now, however, you label it It doesn't matter, but I wanted to point those facts out Now before I move on I want to say that this teaching here in Matthew 13 Verses 1 to 23 all the verses with this parable.

This is some of the most important teaching and all of Scripture You might say pastor that's very bold. That's even a presumptuous statement. I Say that because this parable teaches us so many fundamental facts about the condition of the hearts of men and women This parable teaches us so many fundamental truths about how people react to the gospel when the gospel is shared with them and spoken to them This parable teaches us so many so much vital information about what true salvation looks like in a person and also what false Salvation looks like in a person.

You could probably add to the list Now I want to give you an assignment This is an important assignment. This message tonight is only gonna go so far unless you step up to this assignment I want to encourage you to go listen to the messages that I taught on this parable when we started this series in the parables on September the 8th of 2021 I taught what I called the beginning of the kingdom the parable of the soils and then the next week on the 15th I taught a part 2 and it was it was titled lessons from the soils now those messages are on our church website and they will lay out and Solidify the foundation needed for our message tonight and our message tonight I'm going to make some observations from the parable and then I'm going to call us to some responsibilities and having a firm understanding of all that's there is Is really much needed and I really believe it will help you and just to show you that I'm not hypocritical I went back and I studied that information myself this week Now before I share with you what I want us to study and what I want to do here with the parable I want us to read it Many of you know that it's not all of the verses in verses 1 to 23 The parable is starts in verses 1 to 9 and then there's an explanation in verses 19 to 23 All right.

Let's look at the parable. I want to read it We're not going to read all of it back through the message, although I'll reference a Few verses and some other scripture so verses 1 to 9 the same day Jesus went out of the house and set by seat by beside the seat and Great crowds gathered about him so that he got into a boat and he sat down and the whole crowd stood on the beach There's a good vantage point there for his teaching and he told them many things in parable saying a Sower went out to sow and as he sowed some seeds fell along the path and the birds came and devoured them That would be the seeds other seeds fell on rocky ground where they did not have much soil and immediately they sprang up Since they had no depth of soil, but when the Sun arose they were scorched and since they had no root They wither away other seeds fell among thorns and the thorns grew up and choked them Other seeds fell on good soil and produce grain some a hundred foal some 60 some 30 He who has ears let him hear now then starting in verse 10 he gives a Discourse on the purpose of the parables and then he picks up in verse 18 with an explanation Here then the parable of the sower When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it the evil one Comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart This is what was sown along the path and as for what was sown on the rocky ground This is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy Yet who has yet he has no root in himself But he endures for a little while and then tribulation or persecution arises on the account of the word Immediately he falls away and as for what was sown among the thorns This is the one who hears the word but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth the riches choke the word and it proves Unfruitful and as for what was sown on the good soil This is the one who hears the word and understands it He indeed bears fruit in yields in one case a hundred fold and another 60 and then in another 30 Now here's what I want to do tonight in this parable.

This parable is about three soils Three different types of human hearts this parable is about the seed of the gospel that is sown and spread in the human hearts and This parable is about a sower who sows the seeds in the human hearts and I want to make just a few Observations and comments about the sower the seed and the soils and then I also want to make some much-needed Application for the services that were coming up starting this particular Sunday morning So number one the sower of the seed Now if we pay attention to the parable even the explanation that's given by Jesus It is plain to see that the different types of soils or human hearts is the major focus of the parable The explanation given by Jesus in verses 18 to 23 is almost all about the soil or the human heart We can see that in the parable.

It has very little to say about the sower and the seeds but at the beginning of the parable we clearly see the sower of the seed and the seed is the gospel look at verse 3 and Notice the sower Same day he went out of the house and he set by the seaside Great crowds gathered about him He got into a boat and he sat down in the whole crowd stood on the beach We can see he has a great vantage point to teach He told them many things in parable saying a sower went out to sow Now this is what I want us to see here We have the sower who is the human? instrument that is used to sow the gospel seed into the hearts of men into the hearts of people men and women boys and girls and At this point I want to read a few verses from Romans chapter 10 and these verses show us two facts about this sower that we see in Matthew chapter 13 Now the verses I'm going to read are Romans 10 verses 14 to 15.

You don't have to turn there Might be easier for you to just follow me. Notice what Paul says How then will they call on him who they have not believed and how are they to believe in him of whom? They have never heard and how are they to hear without someone preaching and how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written. He's quoting Isaiah. How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news?

Now at this point I want to show us two facts about the Sower in Matthew 13 first fact notice the necessity of the sower Paul helps us here It's easy to see that Paul gives a series of questions in the verses that are read and we need to ask What his purpose was and asking the questions? in these questions Paul was clearly pressing the fact that an explanation a Presentation of the gospel that would be the seed it is a must for producing saving faith He was clearly pressing the fact that a presentation of the gospel comes before saving faith And in these questions one after another Paul is clearly pressing the fact that someone must spread the gospel William McDonald reverses these questions and then he puts them in a series of statements and it helps us see all these things He says and I'm quoting God sends out his servants.

They preach the good news of salvation Sinners hear God's offer of life in Christ Some of those who here believe the message those who believe call on the name of the Lord and those who call Call on the name of the Lord are saved Now what's my point here? Here we see the necessity of a gospel seed sower You need to see that here.

We see the necessity of a gospel seed Sower I want to go back and read those verses in Romans again verse 14 the beginning of verse 15 Notice if you do not hear the necessity of a gospel seed sower How then will they call on him whom they've not believed and how are they going to believe in him whom they've never heard? And how are they going to hear without someone preaching and how are they going to preach unless they are sent? So the first fact is the necessity of a gospel seed sower the second fact Notice the beauty of the sower.

It's easy to see in verse 15 look back at verse 15 It's the last question and then a statement and how are they to preach unless they are sent as it is written? How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news? Paul has finished these rhetorical questions and now he makes a statement saying how beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news That's the seed of the gospel now this of course is a quotation from Isaiah 52 verse 7 and Isaiah statement is about the coming Messiah But Paul takes that verse and he expands this verse to apply to those who sow the gospel seed and in borrowing this expression in Isaiah 52 Paul is saying that the messenger of the gospel is indeed beautiful Their feet are representative of their coming and they're coming to sow the seeds of the gospel are a beautiful work and a beautiful thing So notice what I'm doing here in Matthew 13 and then using Paul's Teaching here in Romans 10 and I believe Romans 10 really complements what we see here in Matthew 13 Notice we see the necessity of the sower God has entrusted men and man with the responsibility of this work of sowing the gospel seed and since God has Determined that men and mankind are entrusted and responsible to this work in a sense In a sense God is dependent on men Think about that statement and Then we see the beauty of the sower It is a beautiful thing when the feet the efforts and the travel of men bring that man to a place or that person to a place Where they can sow the seeds of the gospel in the hearts of men and women and young people anybody Now look at how this applies to us right here in this day It is necessary that God bring men into the life of the church to sow the seed of the gospel It is necessary that God bring men into the life of our church to sow the seed of the Word of God and not just the gospel saving gospel Now question those of you who know your Bibles will get this How many times do we see all sorts of men coming into the lives of the New Testament?

Churches and they come to preach the gospel and minister the word go and look at Romans chapter 1 Paul gives this exhortation about how he can't wait to come to Rome and the minister to the gospel to them and then the gospel Would work in his life. He sees this mutual edification in their life and in his life from the gospel in the Word of God. I Think about what he wrote to the Philippians He's in a prison and he says I can't wait to send Timothy to you I can't wait to come myself.

Timothy was going there to minister the Word of God if he made it a Papariditis came to help Paul and he brought him a monetary gift But Paul said he was a great servant and no doubt he helped him in gospel ministry Even when he was there in prison when you study the work of the church starting in Acts you see this traveling of all types of people ministering the Word of God in the churches and Then for us it is necessary Yes Necessary that Jason John's comes to sow the seeds of the gospel and to sow the seeds of the Word of God into our lives And for us his coming is beautiful now.

I'm not gonna say that he's beautiful But his coming is beautiful, isn't that what the text says Now look at our responsibilities here We're to welcome him There's a man sent by God to come spread the seed of the gospel in the Word of God. We're to pray for him We're to come and listen attentively come with our Bibles come with our notepads come listening now As soon as you make a plan to come with your notepad and your Bible and come attentively You know something will happen at home and you'll be late and you'll run in here.

I get that that's life But we were to work hard to to come and to listen and to sit down knowing that God has appointed him to cut So gospel seeds and the seed of the Word of God in our hearts and we're to bring our children and our family Faithfully we're to reach out to those who need to come We have visitors who come and are a part of our church.

We need to encourage them text message them call them We have people in our church that need to be reached out to maybe they've got a lot going on and they need that reminder Maybe our small group leaders need to reach out to those in their small groups Maybe you need to reach out to some in your small group. I Could continue on in this kind of application in this responsibility you get that So the sower of the seed it is necessary that he comes and it is a beautiful thing And then number two the seed which is the gospel Again, if we carefully look at the parable and the explanation It is plain to see that the different types of soils the human hearts That's the major focus of the parable and just like with the sower There's very little said about the seed which is the gospel and if we look at verses four to nine We clearly see the seed of the gospel Sowed into different types of human hearts go look at verse 49 Verse three and he told them many things in parable saying a sower went out to sow and notice and he sowed Some seeds they fell along the path and the birds came and devoured them Other seeds fell on rocky ground where they did not have much soil and immediately they sprang up But since they had no depth they produced no fruit But when the Sun rose it scorched them and since they had no root they were there away Other seeds they fell among the thorns and the thorns grew up and choked them out and then other seeds They fell on the good soil and that produced grain some a hundred fold some sixty some thirty fold Now from here and there are a couple of other verses I want us to look at I want us to show us two facts about The gospel seed and this kind of overlaps with the sower.

You'll see it first fact Notice this seed is the gospel that has the power to save the lost Now earlier we saw this plainly in Romans 10 verses 14 to 15. I want to go back and I want to read those questions and those statements Paul says how then will they call on him and who they've not believed and how are they to believe in him of whom? They have never heard and how are they to hear without someone preaching? How are they to preach unless they are sent as it is written? How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news?

Now here Paul is obviously stating the fact that someone must Spread the gospel so that the lost can hear the gospel so that they can savingly believe but in the questions Paul was Pressing the fact that a presentation of the gospel the seed that must be given to produce saving faith And he was clearly pressing the fact that a presentation of the gospel comes before faith We see Paul expressed the very same thing in 1st Corinthians chapter 1 verses 1 to 5 I'm not going to turn there But to the Corinthians he said that he did not come preaching the words and the wisdom of men But the words of God and the gospel and in verse 5 of 1st Corinthians chapter 1 He declares that he did this so that their faith may not rest on human wisdom or the wisdom of men But in the power of God and we must see that this power of God is associated with the preaching of the gospel Now what's my point here?

We must see that it is the gospel and the gospel alone that has the power to save the lost and That is what this seed was and is in Matthew 13 It is the gospel it is the seed of the gospel Which is the power of God to save the lost and there is no power Besides this gospel power that has the power to save the lost and to set them free from their sin and then the second fact Notice this seed is the truth that has the power to sanctify the saved Now we do know that this parable is about how people react to the gospel seed So in its strictest sense this seed in Matthew 13 is the gospel message But we also need to see that this seed can apply to the Word of God and it is the Word of God that has the power to sanctify those Saved sinners we could call them believers or saints Now here I want to read you a few verses out of John 17.

This is the great high priestly prayer Jesus is praying to his father and here he's praying about his disciples his particular disciples that he is about believe but also us as believers, but I want to read John 17 verse 14 to 17 Jesus is praying. He says I have given them your word in The world has hated them because they are not of the world Just as I am not of the world.

I do not ask that you take them out of the world But that you keep them from the evil one or keep them from the evil one in the world They his disciples are not of the world just as I am not of the world and notice Sanctify them in the truth your word is truth and from this prayer from Jesus concerning his disciples We truly see what actually has the power to sanctify the believer, but we've got to ask a question What is sanctify me? What is sanctify? What is sanctification mean?

Really two things it means to wash or purify or cleanse from sin this means to be made less like sin in the world and more like God and Then also this means to consecrate or to be set apart This means to be set apart for God and for his purposes in life and on the earth But notice what sanctifies the saint the verse says the truth or God's Word of truth and We must see that this isn't some man-made truth or subjective changing truth This is the truth in all of the truth that is found in the scripture Albert Barnes says this contains and I'm quoting all of the commands and promises of God his representations of his own character and that of man His account of the mission and death of his son of the grave the resurrection Judgment and eternity all tend to represent things as they are and are Thus fitted to sanctify the soul So notice what I'm doing in Matthew 13 and then reaching over to Romans 4 Romans 10 again in in 1st Corinthians 2 here notice what I'm doing even using John 17 We see the seed of the gospel has the power to save the lost High speech high wisdom do not have the power to save the lost sinner from their sin Plausible words of human wisdom do not have the power to save the lost sinner from their sin It is the power of God which is contained in the seed of the gospel that can change the person And we see the seed of the truth of God's Word it has the power to sanctify the saint High speech or wisdom do not have the power to sanctify the believer Plausible words of human wisdom do not have the power to effectively sanctify the believer It is the word of God that has the power to purify the believer from sin in the world It is the word of God that has the power to set apart the believer for God and for his purposes in life Look at how this applies to us right here today It's necessary and beautiful that pastor Jason Johns comes to do two things First to preach the saving power of the gospel He will preach the gospel not just any gospel this gospel and the saving power of the gospel Could it be that we need to be reminded that it is the declaration of the saving power of the gospel that really saves We cannot reason people into the kingdom.

We can't counsel people into the kingdom We can't educate people into the kingdom. We can't pull people or drag people or push people into the kingdom. It is the clear presentation the simple Declaration of the gospel and within that gospel it has the power to save even the worst wretched sinner and He will preach and teach the gospel We can come expecting that God would even save a lost sinner Sunday night Sunday morning Tuesday night and Then second he will preach the sanctifying truth of the word of God Yes, he will deal with the theme of perseverance but it will come from the Word of God and we can expect a sanctifying work in our life in regards to this particular subject and Do we see that it is the Word of God that we need to help us have victory over sin?

Victory over the world do we see that it is the work of the Word of God in us that helps Set us apart for God's purpose and plan for our life You know everybody wants to talk about our purpose in the world. We find that in God's Word Because it is God's Word that sanctifies us And look at our responsibilities here. We need to pray for when Jason John's presents the gospel We do for what? Why do we need to pray?

We need to pray that the Holy Spirit of God will enable him to communicate clearly to articulate things clearly to share illustration clearly But even if he stumbles and stammers and spits even if he loses his notes and gets it all confused If it's pregnant with the power of the Holy Spirit of God look that gospel presentation will impact lost soul So we need to pray for when he presents the gospel we need to pray for the messages that he will deliver from God's Word and Pray that God will take those messages to sanctify a brother to our right a sister in front of us someone in our small group someone that we teach in our small group that God will take these messages and sanctify think about the teenagers who came to faith in Christ this summer They need perseverance in their life.

They need these messages to persevere in them and sanctify them So the seed which is the gospel and the word of truth and then number three The soils which are the human hearts now said several times that this parable is primarily about the different hearts of men and how those Hearts or people react to the gospel message Now I'm not gonna go back through all that I taught in these these verses I'm not gonna go back in and teach you all about the soils and the different types of hearts You're gonna have to go listen.

This is where going back and listening will give you that foundation and that understanding and it'll all come together But here we have four different types of human hearts and I want to quickly touch on these and again I'm gonna show you where we're responsible here first heart verse 19 the unresponsive hard heart This is the person who hears the gospel message, but they do not understand and they do not receive it But the reason they do not understand it or receive it.

It's not because there's something wrong with the gospel The problem is that they have a hard heart which has made them completely indifferent to spiritual matters now Why it's because of sin and pride and rebellion. It's sin human pride and rebellion against God all of these things have made their hearts hard and Unable to understand and receive the gospel seed but notice two things first The gospel can penetrate that heart the hardest of hearts and Second the birds of the air can take away the seed Now what are the birds kind of seems cryptic?

Birds here or any person any teaching any idea any excuse any reason for rejecting the truth of the gospel you see you see In many ways their hearts cannot be penetrated by the gospel Why because their hearts are hard and they hardened their heart but yet the great mystery their heart can be penetrated by the gospel We believe it, but then we see that the birds take away the seed Now we do know that the gospel message can be altered it can be perverted it can even be ruined But the quality of the gospel message is not the point here The hard-hearted person that hardens their heart continuously against the gospel. That's the point here now.

What's our responsibility right here? We must pray for hard-hearted sinners We must pray that the Holy Spirit of God will empower the gospel message to break their hearts and many times the hard-hearted Sinner must have their life ruined wrecked. They must have their heart crushed many times they can be under deep and Heavy conviction of the Spirit of God which can scare certain people But God can with the power of the gospel penetrate this heart Now question For us as believers listen close As believers, can we allow our hearts to become hard? Can we allow our hearts to become unrepentant? Can we allow our hearts to become maybe worldly?

Can we allow things to come into our lives and our soft heart just gets a little hard and a little harder and a little Harder can we as believers allow our hearts to become hard? Yes, we can Second heart the superficial heart. It's what I call the second one verses 20 to 21 You know, this is the person who hears the gospel and they respond immediately with joy But this is just in their emotions.

This person gives a quick response, which is the opposite of the hard-hearted here But notice what happens they immediately fall away because of one thing affliction and persecution from the world That's not what the verse says that surprises some people The affliction and persecution does not come from the world but the word notice that Now this can confuse some but notice it's rather simple They fall away because of the cost of true discipleship. It's too high The trail of true Christianity is too tough.

So they fall away This phrase fall away is a must it means to fall to stumble to cause offense and what is happening here is this this Superficial believer is offended by the word of God. They are offended because of true discipleship and the cost so what they stumble and they fall away Now we'll saw responsibility here We must pray for those who have this superficial heart We must pray that the Holy Spirit of God will empower the gospel and break through their superficial shallow heart and bring them the true salvation But as believers Can we allow our hearts to become shallow and superficial Maybe you've grown cold in prayer Maybe you've grown lax in your study of the word Maybe you've grown lax in your faithful attendance to church.

Maybe you've grown lax in those spiritual disciplines and Because of that your hearts become shallow and more superficial. I Think that we can allow our hearts to become shallow and superficial even as believers When we allow our hearts affections and devotions to be given to other things in an unhealthy way Third heart the worldly heart verse 22 this person hears their hears in response to the gospel But not like the superficial heart this person does not seem to fall away quickly this person responds to the gospel call But ultimately the text says they are not fruitful notice why two reasons first the cares of the world are left in their heart and Second the deceitfulness or riches are left in their heart in life simply This is the one who responds to the gospel call but they do not repent of the cares of the world and the riches of the world and notice although they truly seem to be a believer they prove themselves to be false by falling away the gospel seed is not fruitful in their lives And our responsibility here is the same.

I think you can predict what I'm going to say We must pray for those who have a worldly heart We must pray for them we must pray that the Spirit of God will empower the gospel To break through their sin field heart and to bring them the saving faith now You can probably predict what I'm gonna ask here Can we as true believers have a worldly heart because we hold on to sin and worldliness? Yes, we can I? Think we can allow our hearts to become hard we can allow our hearts to become Superficial and we can allow our hearts to become worldly Fourth the fourth heart the receptive heart it's easy in verse 23 now.

This is the person who hears the gospel They understand it notice the text says they receive it and the gospel seed takes root and it bears fruit It takes root and it bears fruit, but a question I want us to ponder What is the difference in the heart in this heart and the others? only one thing heart preparation This heart is different This heart has been prepared by work of the Spirit of God this heart has been prepared by the work of God This heart has been prepared by the Word of God you see God the Spirit of God and the Word of God Has worked in their heart therefore they are a good heart their heart did not get to be a good heart because of something They did And look at our responsibilities here we must come to our series of meetings with pastor Jason with receptive hearts Soft hearts now speaking to believers here.

What must we do? repent of any known sin in our life Pray Submit our heart and life to the work of the Spirit of God Submit our heart and life to the Word of God you might say pastor. That's just a couple of days away Well, what are we waiting on? We must repent of any known sin in our life. We must pray we must submit to the Spirit's Word We must get into the Word of God and ask God to do when only God can do yes That's even softened a believers heart And we must enter into a time of prayer and study and seeking a work of God in our lives For what's going to be brought to us and therefore we will have a receptive heart will be on the edge of our seat We'll listen and the Word of God will find its way into our heart and it will sanctify us Helping us become less sinful and less worldly and helping us to become more sanctified and set apart for God and his purposes in our lives So notice what we have here We have the four types of soils which represent the four types of human hearts Three represent the different types of lost people and one represents the true believer And I think we can see our responsibilities are rather simple But yet much needed Now let me share with you the title of the message and we'll make a few concluding comments And then we're going to look at a few specific prayer requests.

The title is simple the sower See and the soils our responsibility the sowers coming You'll fly in here Saturday afternoon pray for a safe travel Pray for his preparation. I Know he's on a little vacation for a couple of days with his wife and daughter Pray for the sower pray for his heart pray for his mind pray for his ability pray for him as a man And as a preacher of the gospel Pray for the seeds that he's gonna come and so he's gonna come in here with a sack full of seeds He's gonna sow them among us pray for the seeds pray for the soils one another our hearts your heart my heart pray for The soils of our hearts and let's roll up our sleeves to our responsibilities And then this is what will take place at the end of it all We'll be able to look back and see how God's worked in us not for us for us Yes, but ultimately for the work that God wants to do in our lives