Turn with me if you've got a Bible to Matthew chapter 13.
We're beginning a short series, just four sermons in Matthew 13 that'll get us to the holidays.
And it's boiling hot, isn't it? And so if you feel you need to get up and get some fresh air, honestly, feel free.
No one will think any badly of you at all.
All right, how about that?
Matthew 13 is about the kingdom of God. It's about parables.
And you take verse 10 as a text.
Really, this question, why do you speak in parables?
The disciples come to him and say, why is that the way you teach?
There are three sections in the passage we're looking at.
And in the middle bit, Jesus explains the story.
In the middle of it, there's this confusing explanation of why Jesus speaks in parables.
And I want to dive just into the middle of it and ask that question that the disciples ask in verse 10.
Why do you speak to people in parables? Let me set the scene for you.
Notice how the chapter opens.
We're told that Jesus went out of the house and he sat beside the sea.
Great crowds gather to hear him.
In fact, the crowds are so great that he's got to get into a boat to get away from them.
And he speaks to them from a boat.
This is what seems to be happening.
Jesus, I must heal the sick.
People are clamoring for it to touch him.
And no doubt he wants to speak to them.
So he puts a little bit of distance between him and the crowd.
Picture it, if you can.
The boat is his pulpit.
His voice carries across the water crisp and clean in the morning air.
The steep banks are a little bit like a well-designed amphitheater.
There's perfect acoustics.
And Jesus is in the boat.
The crowds are on the shore.
And they're hanging on his every word.
And we're told that he began to speak to them in parables.
Why?
In fact, at the end of the chapter, verse 34,
we're told that Jesus didn't speak anything to them without using a parable.
So why, Jesus, do you speak in parables?
The disciples ask him.
If you've got a church background and you're here this morning,
you went to Sunday school when you were a child,
you've probably heard that parables are an earthly story with a heavenly meaning.
Maybe.
Maybe you think of them like beautiful little anecdotes
that make difficult things straightforward.
Stories Jesus tells.
So why doesn't every preacher speak in parables?
Why don't they teach preachers to do that in Bible college?
I love what Spurgeon says of so much of people's preaching.
He says, so much of preaching is over people's heads.
Spurgeon said, don't forget, Jesus said, feed my sheep, not my giraffes.
And yet so often, isn't it, the way preachers speak, it's kind of out of our reach.
It's inaccessible.
So why does Jesus speak in parables?
What is he doing here?
It makes perfect sense, but it makes no sense.
You see, in verse 10, you can sense their bewilderment.
What are you going on about?
Jesus has told a little story, nice little story about a farmer sowing seeds.
Well, what's that got to do with anything?
Why do Jesus tell stories like this?
And they say to him, verse 10, why do you speak in parables?
And his answer is shocking.
His answer is shocking.
It's not what you expect.
He quotes from the Old Testament, from Isaiah chapter 6.
And he says in verse 13, this is why I speak in parables.
Because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.
Indeed, in their case, the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says,
you will indeed hear, but you'll never understand.
You'll indeed see, but you'll never perceive.
For this people's heart has grown dull, and with their ears they cannot hear,
and with their eyes they have closed,
lest they should see with their eyes, hear with their ears,
and understand with their heart.
And I would turn and heal them.
Why does he speak in parables?
So that they could understand?
No.
So that they wouldn't understand.
Why does he speak in parables?
To reveal the truth?
Or to conceal the truth?
And you can understand, can't you, why the disciples, they're bewildered.
I mean, it seems, doesn't it, such a wrong move to Jesus' followers.
A strategic mistake, a PR blunder, of the highest order.
The crowds are gathering, they're hanging on his every word.
Surely now is the time to put the most clear,
most comprehensive PowerPoint presentation available.
Now is the time not to be speaking in riddles.
Now is not the time to be speaking in stories that people do not understand.
Why don't you give it to them straight, Jesus says.
Don't you want people to know who you are?
Don't you want people to follow you, Jesus?
And the answer to that question is yes and no.
Doesn't Jesus want people to know who he is and what he's about?
Well, yes, of course he does.
But no, he doesn't.
Because with the rising popularity,
at the same time comes mounting opposition to Jesus.
You can see that in chapter 12, just the chapter before, chapter 13.
His family come to take him away because they think he's mad.
And in the middle of the chapter,
the authorities accuse him of being in league with the devil.
They think he's bad.
And even his strongest supporter, John the Baptist,
his best friend is having second thoughts about him.
He sends disciples and he says,
are you for real?
Or should we look for another?
And so you see, Matthew 13 is a really crucial point in Jesus' ministry.
His popularity is on the increase, the crowds are gathering,
but at the same time, opposition is growing.
And so Jesus speaks in parables to sift his hearers.
He sorts his hearers into those who want to know
and those who don't really want to know.
Those who don't want to know,
who are hard-hearted,
will wander off to someone else
and they'll get bored of their stories.
Jesus is playing hard to get.
And only those who really want to know will hang around.
In other words, what I'm saying is this,
parables are a little bit like a filter.
If you like, they reveal the truth to those who want to hear
and they conceal the truth from those who don't.
Think, for example, of a stained glass window.
We haven't got one in this church,
but think of a stained glass window.
And as you're walking along the side of a church,
maybe a path alongside the church,
you look up from beneath the stained glass window.
What do you see?
You just see colored glass.
You don't see it from the pathway.
It just looks like dark glass, doesn't it?
Discolored glass.
But if you go into the church
and the sun comes blazing through that window,
you see this beautiful picture.
You get the message.
You're walking alongside.
You don't get it.
It's just dark glass.
It's indistinct shapes.
And the parable's a bit like that.
Maybe you're sitting here and you just think,
what are they going on about?
They're just like dark shape.
Dark shapes.
They don't illumine the truth.
But actually, inside the church,
at the same time,
you go in
and suddenly you see the beauty.
The beauty of the truth.
It all depends, doesn't it,
with the stained glass window,
are you on the outside
or are you on the inside?
To you, Jesus says to his disciples,
his followers,
verse 11,
to you,
it's been given
to know the secrets of the kingdom.
But to them,
it's not been given.
Let me give you an illustration
from church history.
Two of the great reformers
of the English Reformation
were Hugh Latimer,
he's one of the martyrs,
and the other guy
was a guy called Thomas Bilney.
Now, they were both
in Oxford University.
Latimer was a priest.
Bilney was converted first.
And Bilney wanted Latimer
to become a Christian.
But these were dangerous times.
There was serious opposition
to the Reformed faith.
In England at that time,
if you were caught
reading some of the works
that were being taught
on the continent
by Luther or Calvin,
your life could be in danger.
You could be imprisoned.
You could lose your life
for reading the Bible.
That's what it was like.
And Bilney had come
to know the truth
of the gospel.
He was burdened
for his friend Latimer.
He really wanted to share
the gospel with his friend Latimer.
And so what he did
was brilliant.
The Bible says,
isn't it,
that as followers of Jesus,
we should be innocent as doves
and as wise as serpents.
So Bilney comes up
with this great idea.
He says,
I'll go along
and I'll go into
the confessional.
And I will confess
to my priest.
I will confess
to Hugh Latimer.
I will confess to him
the new ideas
that I'm finding
in the New Testament
all under the seal
of the confessionals.
Very clever.
But do you see
what he was doing?
He was planting,
wasn't he,
the gospel's truth
in Latimer's mind.
So that when
the Holy Spirit
began to work
in answer to Bilney's prayer,
those truths
would spring forth
to life
and would bring fruit.
And that's what Jesus
is doing in Matthew 13.
He is planting the truth
into people's minds
for later on.
And he puts it
in such a vivid
and unforgettable way.
But it requires interpretation.
To understand these truths,
you have to come out
of the crowd
into the house.
You have to be willing
to come and sit
humbly at Jesus' feet
and be taught by him
as the disciples do.
So let's do that.
The introduction is a bit long
and the points are quicker.
This parable is about
the kingdom of heaven
and its progress
in the world.
Three things.
A vital activity,
a variable response
and a very big result.
So first of all,
there's something
that's absolutely vital.
Something absolutely vital
to the coming of Christ's kingdoms
in this world
and that is the word of God,
the seed.
A farmer went out to sow.
It's an everyday story
of country folk
and it's probably happening
at the very moment
Jesus is speaking.
There on the beach,
Jesus is preaching to them
from a boat.
There's probably a farmer
up on the cliffs
planting crops
and he's sowing the seed.
But notice the seed
according to Jesus
later on in the passage
is the word of God.
And it's a message
about the kingdom,
how the kingdom comes.
How God's sovereign rule
gets set up in the world.
This is how the king
sets up his kingdom.
Not with a fanfare of trumpets.
Not with a motorcade
of limousines.
Not by military force.
Not by political wheeling
and dealing
but by the patient,
continual scattering
of the seed.
Week in,
week out,
year in,
year out.
And Jesus' teaching,
never underestimate that.
A farmer went out
to sow.
Notice Jesus
doesn't identify
who the farmer is.
We know it's Jesus
of course.
Jesus came to preach,
didn't he?
Somebody has said
about Jesus,
God had one son
and he made him
a preacher.
Jesus is the farmer
who came out to sow
but he leaves it
open-ended,
doesn't he?
He doesn't necessarily
identify himself
in the parable.
And so it is
anyone who sows
the word of God.
Any parent
with children
growing up in your home
telling them
Bible stories.
It's any gospel worker,
any Sunday school teacher,
anyone who has
a conversation
with another person
and drops
the name of
the Lord Jesus
into a conversation.
A farmer went out
to sow.
That is what the church
is called to do.
To scatter the word
of God
amongst all sorts
of different people.
To scatter the seed
of the word of God
in countless conversations
and to be intentional
about it.
And so God's kingdom
is not going to come
to healing
just by us
meeting and building
and worshipping
in this building.
Every year
I buy grass seed.
I use most
of the grass seed
but I leave
some grass seed
in the box.
I now have
six boxes
of grass seed
that I've bought
over the last six years
and I've found out
the seed is useless now.
There's no point
keeping it.
There's no point
having grass seed
and keeping it
in the box
in the shed.
The point of the seed
is what?
It's to sow it.
It's to get it out
into the ground.
And so God's kingdom
is going to come
when we leave
this building
and start having
conversations
with people
in our families
and our networks
on our streets
and telling them
about the Lord Jesus.
Of course
you don't need
to tell them
everything there is
to know about Jesus.
You don't need
a word perfect
gospel presentation
with drawings.
You don't even
have to have
a particular method.
You just have
to love Jesus
and because you
love Jesus
out of the abundance
of your heart
your mouth will speak
and talk about
Jesus and his kingdom.
Slip him into
conversation.
Pray Lord
help me to do it.
It doesn't seem
like very much
does it
as I say that.
And sometimes
you have to wait
a very long time
before you see
any results.
But there is
life in the seed
isn't there?
And it will
produce the harvest.
I love what
Martin Luther
said about
the Reformation.
Somebody said
to him
how did
the Reformation
happen
which changed
the face
of Europe?
How could
something like
that happen?
How can
a man
stand up
against the
might of
the Roman
Catholic Church?
How did
that happen?
And Luther
said I did
nothing.
The word
did everything.
I got up
in the morning
I preached
the word
I prayed
I went to
bed
and I slept
and it
happened
because the
word of
God
finds good
soil
and bears
amazing
fruit
and that's
what we
must do
to sow
this message
about Jesus
in people's
hearts and
minds
and broadcast
it far and
near.
And the
kingdom of
God will
only come
as you
and I
go out
to sow
the message
of Jesus
in people's
lives.
The kingdom
comes as
the word
is taught
as the word
is spread.
And so
why is there
such a weak
response?
Why doesn't
everyone get
converted?
Why doesn't
everyone in
your family
believe?
And the
answer
according to
Jesus
lies in
the soil.
There are
different types
of soil.
There is
secondly a
variable
response.
And so
when the
seed is
scattered
it falls
on the
wayside
some
falls
on the
stony
ground
some
among
thorns
some
on good
ground.
And I
think we
have to be
really careful
here.
We mustn't
be kind
of fatalistic
about this.
You mustn't
think there
are four
types of
people.
And which
one of the
types of
people am
I?
And if
I'm one
of the
three types
of people
that doesn't
bear fruit
well there's
no way
that I
can be
saved.
Am I
a wayside
shearer
or a
stony
ground
shearer?
No,
no,
I don't
think Jesus
is talking
about that.
He's not
saying there's
four different
types of
people.
He's not
saying there
are four
different types
of personality.
he's saying
there are
four different
kinds of
responses to
the word of
God, to the
message of the
kingdom.
And so you
mustn't absolutize
this.
You mustn't put
people in a
box and label
them, well
they're a hard
hearer, there's
not much hope
for them, or
she is a
thorny ground
hearer.
We mustn't do
that.
We mustn't
judge people
like that.
You might be
this morning a
thorny ground
hearer.
But next
week, a
good soil
hearer for
the gospel.
Sometimes if
you're like
me, you
have a
good week
and you
have a
bad week.
And there's
no reason
at all.
In the
mercy of
God, I
find that I
can be a
thorny
ground
hearer and
a good
hearer all
in the
space of
one sermon.
And you
may have
come in
here this
morning and
your heart
might have
been stone
hard, cold
as ice.
But God
promises you
to take
away your
heart of
stone and
to give
you a
heart of
flesh.
And he
can do
that even
as I
speak to
you this
morning.
And so
the question
is not
what kind
of person
are you,
but how
are you
responding?
When you
come here
and you
listen to
the word
of God
preached,
how are
you preparing
yourself for
the word
of God?
It's true,
isn't it,
that for
some of
us who've
been in
church for
decades maybe,
it can be
like water
off a
duck's
back.
For some
our hearts
are like
the well
worn foot
path,
nothing
gets
through.
It never
seems to
penetrate the
surface.
So many
feet have
trodden it
down over
the years
and maybe
you've been
brought up
on this.
Maybe
you've
heard me
a thousand
times before
and you've
become
gospel
hardened.
Maybe
that's
you.
And some
see Jesus
says fell
along the
path and
the birds
came and
they added
up.
And no
sooner do
you hear
than you
think I've
heard it
all before
leaving and
you switch
off.
No sooner
do you
hear than
verse 19
the devil
comes and
he snatches
it away.
And the
reason that
the devil
can come
and snatch
it away
is because
we're not
allowing it
to penetrate
our hearts
and minds.
It's one
of the
reasons why
I think
we've got
to work
really hard
as a
church to
cultivate
the art
of spiritual
conversation.
Some seed
fell along
the path
and the
birds came
and added
up.
And so
we need
to shoo
away the
birds.
If you go
to the
cinema,
it's so
expensive to
go to the
cinema,
but you go
to the
cinema,
you come
out of the
cinema and
you walk
from the
cinema to
the car.
What do
you talk
about?
What do
you talk
about on
the way
from the
cinema to
the car?
Anybody
want to
shout out?
It's really
interesting,
isn't it?
When you
walk from
your seat
to get
coffee,
what do
you talk
about?
I don't
really know
why.
I think
part of
it is
the devil,
isn't it?
The devil
loves to
pluck away
the seed
of the
words.
You're all
thinking,
no,
good grief,
I'm going
to have
to talk
about the
sermons
through
the
office.
Can't
even ask
someone how
you are.
The reason
Satan can
snatch it
away is
because we're
not allowing
it to
penetrate our
hearts.
I want to
introduce a
new ministry
to IPC
this morning,
and maybe you
want to
volunteer.
I think we
need a
scarecrow
ministry.
You could
be a
scarecrow,
couldn't you,
in church
life?
You
should
talk to
people about
the
sermon.
What did
you find
helpful in
what was
preached?
It's one of
the reasons
we have
house groups,
isn't it?
In lots of
ways, the
most important
thing about
house groups
is what
happens before
or what
happens after.
They're kind
of natural
spiritual
conversations.
Say to
someone,
it'd be great
to dig into
this a little
bit deeper,
isn't it?
I've read a
book on
this,
maybe we
could read
it together.
Why don't
we meet
up?
We could
read through
Mark's
gospel.
There's
all sorts
of ways,
aren't there,
that we can
do it in
a way that
shoots off
the birds.
And so
let me ask
you, don't
do the
devil's work
for him.
Let's not
do the
devil's work.
Let me say
this again
before you,
this isn't
about memory.
memory.
I think the
internet hasn't
helped us.
I think for
some of us,
we hear too
many sermons.
And I
don't want you
to feel guilty
at all about
not remembering
my sermons.
What I'm
talking about
here is not
remembering
sermons.
This isn't
about remembering
sermons, it's
about responding
to sermons.
Let me show
you the
difference.
If you were
to ask me
what did I
have to
eat last
Thursday, I
couldn't tell
you.
What did I
have for
dinner?
I couldn't
tell you, and
probably you
couldn't either.
But I did
eat last
Thursday.
And I know
that it did
me good, and
I'm still
here.
But I
couldn't tell
you what it
was that I
had.
It's not a
bad thing for
you to
remember.
It's a good
thing to
furnish your
mind with.
But what is
really important
is that as
you hear the
word of
God
proclaimed,
that you
respond to
it right
now.
That as
God's word
is proclaimed,
Jesus is
speaking to
you.
He's not
sitting in
a boat.
He's in
the highest
place that
heaven affords.
And by
his spirit,
and through
his word,
Jesus is
speaking to
you right
now.
And he
expects a
response from
you right
now.
He doesn't
want you to
make a
mental note
and say,
do you
know what,
I'll look
over that.
Do you
know what,
I'll look
that up on
the internet.
It's
feeding on
the word
of God
and receiving
into your
heart,
not in
one ear
and out
of the
other.
Sometimes
there's
another
response,
it's an
immediate
response,
but it's
shallow and
it's
short-lived,
doesn't bring
any lasting
change.
It's like
the seed
that falls
on the
stony
ground,
says there
in verse
five,
and he
explains it
in verse
50,
that he
hears the
word,
immediately
receives it
with joy,
but it's
got no
root.
And it
lasts for a
little while
and when
tribulation or
persecution
arises on
account of
the word,
it immediately
falls away.
And so we
talk about
people,
don't we,
with rocks in
their heads.
rocks,
but Jesus
says we
have rocks
in our
hearts.
Our
garden,
certain parts
of our
garden has
got a
really thin
level of
soil,
so the
grass doesn't
really grow
in that
area,
because
underneath
it is
the rock.
And the
grass kind
of springs
up,
but when
the sun
comes,
it just
dies down.
And there
are people
like that,
they're
superficial in
their response,
they respond
with enthusiasm,
a show of
interest,
but it's
short-lived.
And when
trouble comes
and persecution
comes,
they just
back out.
When it
comes to
standing in
work or
in school,
they just
back off.
You don't
see them
anymore,
maybe they're
scandalized,
they've never
counted the
cost,
nobody's
told them
there's a
cost.
And when
trouble and
persecution
comes,
I didn't
sign up for
that.
And you
don't see
them again.
It's a
surface,
superficial
response.
How do
you deal with
people like
that?
Maybe you
know people
like that.
Maybe they
used to be
here,
they were
full-on
for a
time,
but now
you don't
see them
anymore.
How do
you deal
with the
stony
ground?
Well,
you've
got to
plough it
up.
You've
got to
get rid
of those
stones.
Isn't
that what
Jesus did?
I think
of a
couple of
examples.
In John
chapter 4,
he meets
the woman
at the
well,
and Jesus
says,
go and
fetch your
husband.
And she
says,
well,
they're
having a
nice little
chat about
water.
And she's
got to get
water from
the well.
She goes
in the
middle of
the day,
the sun
is blazing
hot,
and Jesus
says,
well,
actually,
I've
got living
water for
you.
I've got
water on
tap.
She thinks
to herself,
that would
be great,
I wouldn't
have to
keep coming
out here
to get
it.
And
they're
having a
nice little
conversation.
And Jesus
is drawing
her,
he is giving
her a thirst
for something
deeper,
and then
he suddenly
introduces into
the conversation,
go and get
your husband.
She says,
I haven't
got a
husband.
He says,
no,
the truth
is,
you've
actually
had five
husbands,
and the
man you're
living with
now is
not your
husband.
And do you
see what
Jesus is
doing there?
He is
ploughing
up the
ground,
he's showing
her her
need of
a saviour.
She's a
woman with
many regrets,
has done
things that
she bitterly
regrets,
there's stuff
in her life
that needs
to be dealt
with.
If she is
going to
receive the
living water
that Jesus
has come to
give,
he ploughs
up the
ground,
it's painful.
Why does
he say to
the rich
young ruler,
this guy
who's got
everything going
for him,
who turns
up to
church and
people are
tripping over
themselves to
welcoming.
He's well
known around
town,
he's wealthy,
he's good
looking,
he's a
moral guy,
full of
religion,
and Jesus,
he asks
Jesus some
good spiritual
questions,
what must I
do to
inherit eternal
What a great
question!
And Jesus
says,
you know the
commandments,
don't you?
He says,
I've kept
them since I was
a boy.
Jesus says
to him,
and one
thing you
lack,
he tears
up the
ground,
he says,
go and
sell all
that you
have and
give to
the poor.
That's not
a general
command that
all Christians
are supposed
to obey.
Jesus is
dealing with
an individual
and the
problem with
this man is
not that he's
got money,
but money
has got him.
He's greedy
and covetous.
And he
doesn't realise
it until Jesus
puts his
finger on it.
And challenges
about him.
Do you see
what Jesus
is doing
there?
He's
ploughing
up the
soil in
order that
that seed
might be
sown.
for people
to become
real Christians
for the
long haul,
then it's
so important
that they
come to
Jesus for
the right
reason.
Martin Oll
Jones was
a great
preacher in
the 20th
century in
central London.
On Sunday
night,
3,000 people
would go and
hear him.
And he's
a very powerful
preacher.
And the story
is told of a
man one night
when the
doctor had
preached a
very,
very powerful
sermon,
the man
came up
to him
afterwards and
said,
Doctor,
if you had
given an
altar call,
if you had
invited those
who wanted to
make a response
to come to
the front,
I would have
come forward.
And the
doctor said
to him,
if you don't
want Jesus
five minutes
after the
sermon,
you really
don't want
him.
It's not
about a
surface
emotion,
but how
much do
you really
want the
Lord Jesus?
How serious
are you about
following Jesus?
That is the
test, isn't
it?
Not a surface
emotion, how
you feel,
but serious
discipleship.
What are the
rocks this
morning that
need removing
for you to
be a genuine
follower of
Jesus?
But even
more dangerous
on the
hardness of
the wayside
here and
the shallowness
of the
stony ground
is the
thorny
ground here.
Look at
verse 22.
As for
what was
sown among
thorns,
this is the
one who
hears the
word,
but the
cares of the
world and
the deceitfulness
of riches
choke the
word and
it proves
unfruitful.
The word
grows,
but so
do the
weeds and
the weeds
take over
because the
weeds are
competing for
the same
nutrients,
the same
light.
And I
think many
of us fall
into this
trap.
I get a
notification on
my phone every
Monday that
tells me how
much screen
time I've
used.
Incredibly,
it almost
always seems to
be 20% less
than the week
before.
I'm pretty
sure that's
not the
case.
but I
think in
my life
there's far
too much
screen time
and not
enough Bible
time.
Think how
twitchy you
get when
you leave
your phone
at home.
Think how
panicky you
get when
you can't
find your
phone.
Too much
screen time,
too little
Bible time.
And sometimes
we think we
hear the word,
read our
Bibles,
but the
cares of this
world,
the deceitfulness
of riches,
they just
begin to
choke us.
To change
the metaphor,
there's no
more room
on the
hard drive.
Our hearts
are overcrowded
with things.
There's just
too much
in our
lives.
The things
we see
on the
internet
and the
shops
that we
worry
about.
And maybe
as I
talk this
morning,
there are
things that
you know
in your
life,
they've
just
crowded
out the
seed.
The
world
comes and
it wraps
itself
around us
like a
boa
constrictor
and it
squeezes
the life
out of us.
We don't
realise at
first.
And what
Jesus is
saying here
is that
to listen
to the
word,
the life
giving
word,
is the
most
important
thing
you do
all
week.
And so
it's not
me just
preparing a
talk and
giving it.
It is
King Jesus
speaking to
you through
his word,
inviting you
to respond.
And there's
nothing more
vital than
what we
do as
we gather
as the
people of
God to
hear the
word of
God.
And so
what kind
of soil
are you?
What kind
of response
do you give
to the
word of
God?
Every
parable
has a
punchline
and that
is the
thing to
remember
about the
parables.
And the
punchline
is there
in verse
23.
three.
As for
what was
sown on
good soil,
this is
the one
who hears
the word,
understand it,
and indeed
bear fruit
and yields
in one
case a
hundredfold,
another
sixty,
and in
another
thirty.
And so
it ends
this parable
in a
very
positive
note.
Let me
finish
with this.
Jesus
concludes
his
parable
with a
promise
of
super
abundant
harvest.
It's
probably
lost on
us,
but the
average
harvest
in that
barren
desert
region
was never
any more
than
seven or
eight
percent.
Never
seven or
eight times
the amount
of seeds
sown.
So ten
times the
seeds that
were sown,
that's an
abundant
harvest.
Twenty
times would
be exceptional.
Thirty
times,
would be
unthinkable.
Sixty
times
unfathomable.
One
hundred
times
glorious.
So what
Jesus is
saying here,
he's not
saying all
Christians will
bear fruit,
some will
bear a
lot of
fruit,
some will
bear enough
fruit.
He's saying
all Christians
will bear
lots of
fruit,
some a
lot,
some a
whole lot
more,
some an
extraordinary
amount.
And that's
the test of
whether or
not you're
a good
soil for
the gospel.
Is the
word bearing
fruit in
your life?
They all
hear the
word,
hard hearts,
shallow
hearts,
thorny
hearts,
but it's
only the
good soil
that bears
fruit.
The good
hearer
welcomes
the word
so it
can't be
snatched
away.
Burrows it
deep so
that it
won't
wither and
die.
And
exclusively it
hangs onto
the word,
nothing else
in case it's
strangled.
And so
what kind
of soil
this morning
are you?
Careless
hearer.
Notice
you need to
hear the
word,
then we're
onto
something
else.
receiving
it with
joy but
actually never
really deeply
applying it.
Never
seriously
trying to
live it
out.
Or the
carnal
hearer that
responds but
actually gets
the life
squeezed out
of it by
the cares
of the
world.
Careful
to receive
what James
calls the
word that
is able to
save you.
And that's
what's at
stake,
isn't it?
The saving
of your
soul.
And so
this very
big result,
can you
see it?
Can you
just see
with me
for a
couple of
minutes
what Jesus
is doing
here?
He's not
just talking
about your
personal
salvation.
What Jesus
is doing
is he's
preparing his
disciples and
us as a
church for
the future.
He's looking
beyond his
own lifetime,
right up to
today in
fact.
He's saying
to us this
morning,
to his
disciples in
that room,
welcome
to word
ministry.
Welcome to
gospel ministry.
Yes, there's
going to be
heartbreak.
There will
be bitter
disappointments.
If you've been
around this
church, you'll
have experienced
that.
You're up
against a
powerful
opposition.
You're up
against the
world, the
flesh, and
the devil.
It's really
easy to get
discouraged.
We do live
in a day of
small things.
But in
the midst
of all the
discouragements
and setbacks,
Jesus promises
a harvest.
And those
hearing him
would never
have believed
it was
possible.
Think of
Jesus.
He fell
into the
ground.
He died,
and he was
buried.
And what
came of
that?
More than
can be
numbered.
More than
the stars in
the sky,
more than
the sand on
the seashore,
more than
can be
numbered.
Think of
the twelve
disciples,
opposed,
persecuted,
martyred.
And just
25 years
after Jesus
spoke, the
apostle Paul
says, this
gospel is
bearing fruit
all over the
world, and
it's growing.
Right up to
the present
day, and we
can say the
same.
This gospel is
bearing fruit, and
it is growing
today.
We might not
see much of
it in London,
but there's
revival happening
in other parts
of the world.
And so don't
lose your
confidence in
the word of
God.
Rudyard
Kipling, in
that famous
poem If,
said this,
if you can
bear to
hear the
truth you've
spoken, twisted
by knaves, to
make a trap
for fools, or
watch the
things you
gave your
life to
broken, and
stoop and
build them
up with
worn-out
tools, you'll
be a man, my
son.
And that is
the way to
be a man or
a woman of
God.
As a
church,
don't give
up scattering
the seed.
Keep on
scattering the
seed.
Let's pray.
Father, we
thank you for
this vision of
your kingdom
that you've
given us.
And we
pray that we
wouldn't lose
heart.
We do see
so little in
terms of
results.
So few
people respond.
Lord, we've
got two
blinkered
view of
things.
We know
that with
you a day
is as a
thousand years
and a
thousand years
is a day.
And that you
don't desire
the death of
the wicked,
but that all
might repent
and come to a
knowledge of
the truth.
And so Lord,
we pray that
this week, as
we go out
from this
Lord's Day,
carrying that
precious seed,
that message,
which the
prophets looked
forward to,
and now
has been
fulfilled in
Jesus,
the message
of your
kingdom.
We want to
pray, Lord,
that we would
not keep it
to ourselves,
but that we
would spread it
all around our
families and
all around this
glorious city.
Help us to
not grow weary
and to not
give up scattering
the seed.
Thank you that
there will be
an abundant
harvest in
Jesus' name.
Amen.