Keep On Sowing!
Sermon for July 10, 2005
1. Good morning. Let’s Pray. O Lord, may the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be pleasing to You O Lord our Rock and our Redeemer. Amen.
2. Opening Comments:
a) Have you ever shared your faith with someone and your efforts seemed to go down like a lead balloon?
Then again, perhaps like most of us, you haven’t often ventured to share your faith at all for fear of this reaction.
b) Have you ever told somebody about Jesus and what He means to you and while the person listened politely they quickly but discretely withdrew themselves from you and avoided you like the plague in the future?
Then again, perhaps like most of us, you haven’t often ventured to share you faith at all for fear of this reaction.
c) Have you ever shared with someone how God is sovereignly active in your life – encouraging you, supplying your every need, teaching you either directly through prayer or through others and while they seemed fascinated with your story they obviously didn’t “buy it?” They probably thanked you for your encouragement but left completely unaffected by your words?
Then again, perhaps like most of us, you haven’t often ventured to share you faith at all for fear of this reaction.
a) Perhaps you told somebody about you faith in Jesus Christ and they initially responded with real interest but didn’t dig in and wrestle with it so that they became as it were “covered by it” – like a seed that needs to die so that it can sprout and grow! But instead they remained as they always were – they never allowed themselves to be transformed and for this reason they remained visible and exposed and vulnerable to the world and were soon picked off and swallowed up by the world.
Then again, perhaps like most of us, you haven’t often ventured to share you faith at all for fear of this reaction.
b) Have you perhaps ever told anybody about how you became convinced that Jesus Christ really is real and really does love you and they responded with enthusiastic delight and even came to Church with you a dozen or more times but stopped suddenly and then came a few more times and then stopped all together? And when you called them up to find out what had happened you learned that they had discovered another more fascinating religion. Perhaps it was Edgar Casey and spiritualism and they were completely enraptured with the idea of communing with the spirits and weren’t any longer interested in your lovely but too demanding religion.
Then again, perhaps like most of us, you haven’t often ventured to share you faith at all for fear of this reaction.
c) And then again, perhaps you befriended somebody and told them how Jesus had become your most faithful and blessed friend and they were so taken by the reality of your relationship with Him that they had been drawn into coming to Church to learn more about this wonderful “Jesus.” But soon they stopped coming and when you called to “check in” on them they told you that they were in financial meltdown and their children were in rebellion and they had just been fired and your religion just wasn’t enough to help them cope with all of this.
3. What do we then do? Heck given all of these terrible options it’s probably a better idea to just remain in our Christian ghetto and hunker down and enjoy our bit of heaven and “hang the rest of this crazy world!”
BUT THIS IS NOT WHAT JESUS DID AND THIS IS NOT WHAT JESUS WANTS US TO DO.
The Gospel lesson for today is a word of encouragement to us who are wrestling with all of this and wondering if it’s all worth it.
a) Can we really share our faith in this hard Northeastern soil and expect a harvest?
b) With all of the many seductions and cares of this world does the Gospel message have any chance at all?
c) Will anyone really listen to me or are they so far gone that this simple message could have any possible affect upon them?
d) Heck! Do I really believe it all or am I really fundamentally unconvinced?
e) Heck! If I get serious about all of this I’m going to have to clean up my act and that’s not possible – or is it?
And so the mind of many contemporary Christians spin!
And to us Jesus tells us a story:
Matt. 13:1 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. Notice that Jesus Himself “went out” – He is calling you and me out of our Christian homes and out of our Christian ghettos – into the world! Reading on: 2 Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. Now I want you to ask yourself this question as I read on – who is Jesus talking to in the next 6 verses? Verse 3 Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. 9 He who has ears, let him hear.”
Well – who was Jesus really speaking to? His primary audience was His disciples!
He didn’t want them to become discouraged so WHAT DID HE TELL THEM?
Sow Sow Sow! Yes, it’s true that some of your seeds will fall on the hard path – some of your listeners won’t “dig in” and become, as it were, covered by the humus of God and will be easy picking for the carrion birds or this hateful world!
But keep on sowing – keep on sowing!
Yes, it’s true that some of your seeds will fall on rocky ground and won’t be rooted enough to sustain the assaults of this cruel world and will simply wither and die.
But keep on sowing – keep on sowing!
Yes, it’s true that some of your seeds will fall among thorns and weeds and will be chocked by them and will soon wither and die.
But keep on sowing – keep on sowing!
Like the good farmer we must believe that some of our seed will most assuredly fall on fertile soil and there will be a bountiful harvest!
Why?
Because as our Lord promises us:
Is. 55:10 As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, 11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
Sow my seed says the Lord!
4. Sowing is active! It’s a going out into the field. It’s actively casting God’s Word into the world!
Now let’s get practical. God is encouraging us this morning that the “results” of our reaching out are not our responsibility.
As we cast His Seed out into our world a lot of it will fall on rocky or weedy or unproductive ground but some will most assuredly fall on fertile ground and it will grow and flourish and it’s this that we must keep our eyes on!
God will sovereignly provide many opportunities throughout our days if we’re attentive to His leading all He is asking us to do is sow His seeds!
Now I want to tell you a strange and wonderful story about sowing that happened to Randi and me this last week in Chicago.
Imagine a tall middle aged man with white hair and stooping slightly – too much basketball! Ha! He’s walking in sunny down town Chicago. He has a broad smile on his face. He’s the sort of man who doesn’t need much of an excuse to break out in an infectious laugh at the tip of a hat. He’s a Christian and he seems always ready to respond to God’s call upon his life.
He’s approached by a man with a brochure. Al smiles and happily acknowledges the offered brochure. It’s an evangelistic tract and the man is a converted Jew. Al immediately breaks into an enthusiastic conversation with his brother Christian. They conclude and hug one another warmly and part happily. Al continues on his way. But there’s a nagging sense that he needs to return to that man to encourage him and get some of his evangelistic tracts which Al will then be able to give out as he walks about Chicago that day.
But this time he crosses the street and then back tracks. He’s going to see the other side of the street as he returns to where the man was evangelizing the passers by.
Suddenly he sees the back of a man he feels he should know. He has spotted Randi and me. Suddenly recognition hits him and a broad laugh erupts from his lips and passersby hear him say, “O my Lord, you are amazing!”
He runs up behind us and sticks his fingers in our backs and says “Stick ’em up!”
Before I even turn I know it’s Al and I turn to receive his warm embrace punctured by his infectious and booming laughter!
And so we embrace. He calls his wife who is shopping down the road and we rendezvous and go to lunch to catch up on our respective lives.
Our son and daughter-in-law are with us and they become happily swept up in our joy at this serendipitous meeting of old friends.
This sounds a bit like the “Snapping Turtle” story doesn’t it?
Now you could spend a whole lot of time trying to figure out what God was accomplishing here but do you know what – I know that our God is a God of infinite love and I think He just wanted to reunite old friends of His and it’s as simple and sweet as that. Nothing more – but nothing less.
What are the odds of such a thing happening by chance I wonder???
Now this is the serendipity of our God – if He can arrange to have old friends meet on a busy Chicago street last week He can arrange for you to meet with whomever He wishes – the only question is will you follow His leading. Like Al – will you respond to His gentle nudge and go the extra mile but be prepared for pleasant surprises. You see this calling to sow is not an honorees calling for our God is not a slave-driver nor a task-master nor even a cruel prankster but rather an infinitely benevolent and gracious Father and after all we’re members of His family. He’s calling you and me to invite others into His family – that’s all.
So have you heard Him speak to you this morning? Have you heard Him encouraging you to sow some seeds and let them fall where they will. We’re not responsible for the seeds only the sowing of the seeds. And as we so get ready for some very pleasant surprises. Amen and Amen!
Let’s pray . . .