Sermon | Matthew 13:1-23 | IT'S LIKE THIS... 2. Sowing Seeds

Sermon | Matthew 13:1-23 | IT'S LIKE THIS... 2. Sowing Seeds given by Rev. Joseph Sanford There’s a progression in the story. Seed 1 falls on a path where it cannot even get started in growth. Seed 2 gets started, but can’t take root and withers away Seed 3 gets started, takes root, but also shares the ground with invasive plants which choke it Seed 4 gets started, takes root, and thrives until it yields a rich harvest At first glance this whole thing seems a waste of seed: 75% never bears fruit…but the 25% that DOES bear fruit produces up to 100x over which means it yields 25 TIMES the Toal seed that was sown in the first place. At that rate of return, the fate of the harvest doesn’t depend upon the sower sowing in the right places, but simply on the fruitfulness of the seed which lands in the right place. For a people longing for the Kingdom of God and seeing so much calamity…it’s comforting to know that the harvest will come even if, on the surface, things are going so very wrong. Yes, 3/4 of what we had has gone to waste in one way or another…but we still ended up yielding as much as 25X what we started with. Who wouldn’t drool to make that kind of investment??! God is good!? So there’s hope here. But Jesus really zeroes in on the soil and the part it plays. Because Jesus is bringing the Word of the Kingdom to the hearers. Will they hear what they are hearing? Or will they NOT hear what they’re hearing? Will they scoff and reject what he’s saying not even allowing it to take root? Will it get started, but without any true depth or root so that, when it comes time allow it to influence your life or face a test…you won’t whither? Will it take root but not be tended to so that other invasive things aren’t permitted to share roots with it? Will the Word be heard, allowed to take root, and be tended to so that other things in the world are NOT permitted to continue growing so that the Word produces actions and change and influence? This is the focus of the parable for them then… And it’s the focus of it now. Are we engaging God truly trying to hear what God is saying? Or are we just hear to get to heaven? Or are we a part of this faith so long as times don’t get tough? Or are we going to find a way to try and live our faith while also allowing our greed and privilege, and comfort be priorities, too? Are we here to HEAR? Or do we think we already know? The good news is, Jesus, the sower, was faithful then by sowing everywhere he went… Jesus, through the body of the church, is faithful now to continue to sow… The harvest WILL come…even if only a few seeds are fruitful. The Kingdom is assured. But where are we in the process? How committed to growth are we? When you read your Bible, worship, study, connect with your siblings in Christ… Are you truly seeking growth? Are you tending the soil of your heart and life? Are you ready and willing to remove things that don’t belong? Are you doing the invisible and unseen work of establishing your roots and seeking depth? If so, then it’s just a matter of time. You WILL bear fruit. The harvest will come. No matter what calamity we face, No matter how bad things can seem, No matter who you are, We have hope in Jesus Christ our Sower. We have hope in the Word of the Kingdom offered to us all. So…my friends…embrace that hope… Seize it… Dig into it… Root into it… And let it take hold of you…because this community needs you to bear fruit. Your family needs the peace, hope, and love of the Kingdom in their lives if in no other way than simply by the way you live your life among them. Your coworkers need the fruit of the Kingdom which you will bear. Your neighbors need it. The strangers you encounter today need it. And…YOU need it.