6th Sunday after Trinity – Sermon 31
Prayer to start
May every thought and every word be graciously received for the Glory and honour of our Lord Jesus Christ
AMEN
Introduction
How responsive are we ?
How good are we at hearing and responding to what people tell us?
If you asked a door to door salesman that question after a day of selling in Lymm he’d probably claim that most of us were stone deaf – and not interested – at least in his products –
But when confronted with God’s word would we be equally as deaf – and non -committal – or do we think its something we should take notice of
Our Gospel reading is probably one of the most significant parables on evangelism in the Bible –
In the parable of the Sower Jesus challenges each one of us to think about our understanding and response to God’s word – and His command to bear fruit for the Kingdom –
Point 1 We are all tested
Matthew begins by telling us that the crowds around Jesus were so large that He had to talk to them from the refuge of a small boat on Galilee –
They had come from miles around to see – the man who preached about salvation and the Kingdom of God – who some claimed could heal the sick – and drive away demons –
Many came because they were sick themselves – or poor and oppressed – and hoped he might deliver them from their plight – some came because they were curious – some just for the day out – or because everybody was there – a real mixture of people – but they were all expecting to get something from the experience –
Jesus had them in the palm of His hand – all He had to do was give a fiery speech – and they would have followed Him any where – but instead He chose to tell them a parable – a difficult one at that – so much so that He had to explain it to them afterwards
He told them a story in which they would have to do all the thinking – in the hope that it would search out the people in the crowd who were truly looking for the Kingdom –
In fact Jesus was sowing seed just like the farmer in His parable –
the sower gives the same good seed to all – God dosen’t restrict His word to those who He thinks deserves it – everyone has the same opportunity – In times of doubt – We often pass judgment – claiming its too hard – and giving our excuses for not following it – but in truth – its the word that tests us – and the quality of the ground with in our hearts –
what happens to the seed – is a result of the soil – not of the sower – in the same way – we show the kinds of people we are – by the response we make to God’s word –
Point 2
So what sort of soil are we ?
Are we the hard soil of the footpath – difficult to reach – do we keep God at arms length – fill up our lives with the ordinary things of life – and have no time left to give any commitment or thought to God’s message – or to prayer
Are we easily persuaded that there is nothing more to learn – do we think we know all there is to know – and reject God’s love without even taking a look – leave our Bibles in the book case un read –
Maybe we are like the second type of soil – we give it a fair hearing – but our sincerity is only short lived – we look to satisfy our short term needs not God’s need – we don’t really give room within our lifestyle – for the word to change us –
As Paul reminds us in our NT lesson its part of our nature to look for emotional stimulus – “the things of the flesh” – but God’s word challenges us to look beyond short term problems and focus on our Spiritual needs –
Then there’s the third type of soil – the distracted disciple – who establishes some kind of Christian identity – but after a while it becomes less and less important – Christian commitment becomes more of a habit than the genuine driving force – we lose sight of the Spirit – and the couch-grass of rival interests takes over – and clogs our enthusiasm –
we may be sincere in faith and come to church regularly but we let other things prevent our whole hearted commitment to God –
God offers full reward only to those who take the long term view – the seed of the word is the only way to increase the kingdom – and the only adequate response to it is an enduring Spiritual productivity –
The good soil is the right response to make – it involves a complete transformation -a liberation – a new life – as Jesus tells us – nothing less than fruit bearing will do – We are commanded to encourage people into His church – this is the whole point of the seed – to bring people to God –
Four kinds of soil – but only one is the good soil – maybe this one in four picture might lead us to think that God is difficult to reach – but the reverse is true – God is easy to reach – but the pressure to persuade us to follow another path is strong – we have to realise this – and be determined not to be like one the other three soils –
Point 3 So how can we improve?
well the fault is not in the seed but in the soil –
we have to improve the goodness of our soil –
If a farmer wanted to improve his soil first He would plough it – turn the soil inside out – to get rid of that hard path – and take out the stones that prevent the roots from going in deep
In the same way – we have to turn ourselves inside out – look at the reasons for our hardness towards God – remove the obstacles that prevent us reaching Him – set aside the distractions that get in the way of our commitment –
Then the farmer would clean it – and to bring goodness into the soil by feeding it – adding water and fertiliser to improve its productivity
we too need to be cleaned – to seek repentance – to ask God for forgiveness for our failings – so He can add goodness through the power of the Holy Spirit for us to bear fruit for the Kingdom –
The action of the Spirit is to nourish and renew us – as Paul puts it – to change us from our old nature – to a new Spiritual nature – so we may endure and reach maturity – When we repent of our sins and receive Jesus as our saviour we are set free –
Belong to God for ever – and become part of His church – This conviction grows in us as we obey the teaching of the Bible and pray for the transforming power of the Spirit in our lives
The assurance of our relationship with God is like sitting on a three legged stool in which each leg of the stool can be represented by, the word of God , the work of Christ, and the presence of the Spirit – all three are needed for us to be stable as Christians, otherwise we start wobbling –
If we have faith and commitment to trust in the Spirit – God’s harvest will be large – He is the more powerful – Isiah gives us this assurance in out OT reading –
In verse 11
“My word will not return to me empty
without accomplishing my purpose
and succeeding in the task for which I sent it”
Ending
The Kingdom of God begins in our lives when God’s rule begins there – and God asserts His rule by the obedient attention we pay to His word through Jesus Christ – true faith is a deliberate and determined pledge of the heart to a faithful and obedient Christ and His word –
For us to reach out to others we must first change ourselves – work from the inside out – an allow all of God’s power to work through us –
So when the seed comes our way – we make the right response
Fruit bearing starts from our response to God –
Are we prepared to be obedient to God’s commands
Do we allow His word to penetrate and germinate a new life within us to bring others to the Kingdom – its up to you –
Jesus said
“And some of the seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop, some a hundred fold, some sixty fold, and some thirty fold, If you have ears , then hear”
Prayer to finish
In the name of the Father Son and Holy Spirit
AMEN