1 00:00:00,000 –> 00:00:02,380 please have your Bible open at Mark’s gospel 2 00:00:02,380 –> 00:00:07,380 and chapter four, where Jesus begins his teaching 3 00:00:07,840 –> 00:00:12,840 in parables concerning the kingdom of God. 4 00:00:13,160 –> 00:00:15,700 Now, we notice right at the beginning of Mark’s gospel 5 00:00:15,700 –> 00:00:18,200 that when Jesus opened his ministry, 6 00:00:18,200 –> 00:00:23,059 he began by announcing that the kingdom of God is near, 7 00:00:23,059 –> 00:00:24,920 these were the first recorded words 8 00:00:24,920 –> 00:00:29,440 out of the mouth of Jesus, chapter one and verse 15. 9 00:00:29,500 –> 00:00:32,740 The kingdom of God is near, Jesus says. 10 00:00:32,740 –> 00:00:36,919 Now, the kingdom is simply the blessing 11 00:00:36,919 –> 00:00:39,480 of the rule or reign of God, 12 00:00:39,480 –> 00:00:44,160 the blessing of the rule or reign of God, 13 00:00:44,160 –> 00:00:46,599 and so when Jesus taught his disciples 14 00:00:46,599 –> 00:00:48,560 to pray the Lord’s Prayer, he said, 15 00:00:48,560 –> 00:00:51,720 now, pray like this, your kingdom come. 16 00:00:51,720 –> 00:00:55,560 Your will be done on Earth as it is in heaven. 17 00:00:55,580 –> 00:01:00,580 Remember that our Lord reigns over heaven, 18 00:01:01,000 –> 00:01:05,820 over Earth, and even over hell itself. 19 00:01:05,820 –> 00:01:08,879 He is sovereign, he is the king. 20 00:01:08,879 –> 00:01:12,599 There is no power that comes close to his, 21 00:01:12,599 –> 00:01:16,919 but there is this difference that we must observe. 22 00:01:16,919 –> 00:01:20,000 In heaven, his rule is recognized. 23 00:01:20,000 –> 00:01:22,419 That is why heaven is full of his blessing. 24 00:01:23,139 –> 00:01:26,660 In hell, his rule is resisted, 25 00:01:26,660 –> 00:01:30,680 which is why hell is under his judgment. 26 00:01:31,660 –> 00:01:34,300 On earth, what do we have? 27 00:01:34,300 –> 00:01:35,300 A mixture of both. 28 00:01:35,300 –> 00:01:36,820 Really. 29 00:01:36,820 –> 00:01:40,820 On earth, God’s rule is partly recognized, 30 00:01:40,820 –> 00:01:42,040 partly resisted, 31 00:01:42,040 –> 00:01:43,940 and that is why the world in which we live, 32 00:01:43,940 –> 00:01:45,320 in its very nature, 33 00:01:45,320 –> 00:01:48,040 bears both the marks of God’s blessing 34 00:01:48,040 –> 00:01:50,519 and the marks of God’s judgment. 35 00:01:50,519 –> 00:01:53,400 So when we pray, your kingdom come, 36 00:01:53,400 –> 00:01:54,559 what we’re saying is, 37 00:01:54,559 –> 00:01:58,019 Lord, let this earth be more like heaven 38 00:01:58,019 –> 00:01:59,160 than it’s like hell. 39 00:02:00,080 –> 00:02:02,739 Let it bear more of the marks 40 00:02:02,739 –> 00:02:05,620 of the blessing of life 41 00:02:05,620 –> 00:02:07,379 under Your rule. 42 00:02:07,379 –> 00:02:09,220 Now, when Jesus began his ministry 43 00:02:09,220 –> 00:02:10,860 in chapter one and verse 15, 44 00:02:10,860 –> 00:02:12,080 he said, 45 00:02:12,080 –> 00:02:15,899 The kingdom of God is near, 46 00:02:15,899 –> 00:02:17,619 and so it was. 47 00:02:18,039 –> 00:02:22,839 A touch of heaven on earth 48 00:02:22,839 –> 00:02:24,720 through the ministry of Jesus, 49 00:02:24,720 –> 00:02:27,639 and we’ve seen it in Mark’s gospel. 50 00:02:27,639 –> 00:02:30,660 Sickness is healed. 51 00:02:30,660 –> 00:02:32,919 Demons are cast out. 52 00:02:34,039 –> 00:02:35,779 Sins are forgiven. 53 00:02:37,199 –> 00:02:39,080 Ordinary people follow Jesus. 54 00:02:39,080 –> 00:02:41,500 Troubled people are set free. 55 00:02:41,500 –> 00:02:44,240 The kingdom of God was coming near. 56 00:02:44,240 –> 00:02:47,360 The blessing of life under the rule of God 57 00:02:47,360 –> 00:02:51,139 was being manifested in many different ways. 58 00:02:52,399 –> 00:02:54,639 But then as we followed the story of Mark’s gospel, 59 00:02:54,639 –> 00:02:57,240 we’ve seen something else going on. 60 00:02:57,240 –> 00:02:59,679 This marvelous ministry of Jesus 61 00:02:59,679 –> 00:03:03,759 that is bringing such blessing as the kingdom comes near 62 00:03:05,039 –> 00:03:08,639 is rejected, is resisted. 63 00:03:08,639 –> 00:03:11,300 We saw it in chapter three and verse six, didn’t we, 64 00:03:11,300 –> 00:03:14,520 that after these manifestations of the kingdom of God, 65 00:03:14,520 –> 00:03:18,080 the Pharisees and the Herodians conspire together, 66 00:03:18,080 –> 00:03:22,139 they plot as to how they might kill Jesus. 67 00:03:22,139 –> 00:03:25,240 And then we saw last time in chapter three and verse 22 68 00:03:25,240 –> 00:03:26,720 that when the official delegation 69 00:03:26,720 –> 00:03:28,880 of scholars came down from Jerusalem, 70 00:03:28,880 –> 00:03:31,240 their conclusion and their verdict was 71 00:03:31,240 –> 00:03:34,199 that Jesus was in league with the devil. 72 00:03:34,199 –> 00:03:36,639 Now that’s where we’ve come to in Mark’s gospel. 73 00:03:36,639 –> 00:03:38,399 And so at the beginning of chapter four 74 00:03:38,399 –> 00:03:39,699 as we open our Bibles, 75 00:03:39,699 –> 00:03:42,860 we are faced with an obvious question. 76 00:03:43,820 –> 00:03:46,460 If the King is rejected, 77 00:03:46,460 –> 00:03:47,919 and we’re gonna see more and more of that 78 00:03:47,919 –> 00:03:49,179 as we go through the gospel 79 00:03:49,179 –> 00:03:51,800 until ultimately he is crucified, 80 00:03:52,679 –> 00:03:54,419 if the King is rejected, 81 00:03:54,419 –> 00:03:57,139 what hope is there for the kingdom? 82 00:03:57,139 –> 00:03:58,479 That’s the great question. 83 00:03:59,500 –> 00:04:01,779 How will the kingdom come 84 00:04:02,740 –> 00:04:05,979 in a world that rejects the King? 85 00:04:07,059 –> 00:04:11,119 How can the blessing of life under the rule of God 86 00:04:11,119 –> 00:04:13,259 be known in this world 87 00:04:13,259 –> 00:04:16,299 that has chosen to reject the King? 88 00:04:16,299 –> 00:04:20,980 How can the blessing of Christ’s rule be experienced? 89 00:04:20,980 –> 00:04:25,160 How may it come in a Christ rejecting world? 90 00:04:25,160 –> 00:04:28,519 Well, that’s really what chapter four is all about. 91 00:04:28,519 –> 00:04:30,899 And the key verse here is verse 11, 92 00:04:30,899 –> 00:04:33,660 where Jesus says that the secret of the kingdom of God 93 00:04:33,660 –> 00:04:35,000 has been given to you. 94 00:04:35,000 –> 00:04:37,779 He says these words to the disciples, 95 00:04:37,779 –> 00:04:39,880 and he reveals the secret 96 00:04:39,940 –> 00:04:41,700 in a number of stories 97 00:04:41,700 –> 00:04:44,640 of which we are going to look at the first here, 98 00:04:44,640 –> 00:04:47,519 the very simple story of the sower. 99 00:04:47,519 –> 00:04:50,940 And most of us, many of us will know this story very well 100 00:04:50,940 –> 00:04:53,299 and perhaps have known it for some years. 101 00:04:53,299 –> 00:04:56,380 The sower goes out to sow seed. 102 00:04:56,380 –> 00:04:59,760 The seed falls on different kinds of ground. 103 00:04:59,760 –> 00:05:02,179 The seed that falls on bad ground 104 00:05:02,179 –> 00:05:04,619 leads to nothing of lasting value, 105 00:05:04,619 –> 00:05:06,559 but the seed that falls on good ground 106 00:05:06,619 –> 00:05:10,119 produces a marvelous harvest. 107 00:05:11,119 –> 00:05:14,119 And what I want us to see as we come to this story 108 00:05:14,119 –> 00:05:16,739 is that the reason that Jesus tells it 109 00:05:16,739 –> 00:05:20,399 is he is explaining to his disciples 110 00:05:20,399 –> 00:05:25,399 how the kingdom comes in a world that rejects the king. 111 00:05:26,880 –> 00:05:28,760 Therefore, this teaching of Jesus 112 00:05:28,760 –> 00:05:31,440 is full of very special significance 113 00:05:31,440 –> 00:05:35,880 for all of our thinking about ministry today, 114 00:05:35,880 –> 00:05:39,839 how are we to see the harvest that God is looking for? 115 00:05:39,839 –> 00:05:41,859 What is it going to take? 116 00:05:41,859 –> 00:05:44,459 What are the things we should value? 117 00:05:44,459 –> 00:05:47,359 What are the things that we should pursue? 118 00:05:47,359 –> 00:05:50,480 Now, I want to look at four very obvious things 119 00:05:50,480 –> 00:05:53,299 here this morning, first the seed, 120 00:05:53,299 –> 00:05:56,000 and then the sower, and then the soils, 121 00:05:56,000 –> 00:05:58,600 and then lastly the harvest. 122 00:05:58,600 –> 00:06:00,079 First of all, the seed. 123 00:06:00,079 –> 00:06:03,000 And will you notice this very clear statement here 124 00:06:03,000 –> 00:06:05,839 from Jesus in verse 14? 125 00:06:05,839 –> 00:06:07,399 Jesus is asking the disciples, 126 00:06:07,399 –> 00:06:09,119 don’t you understand this parables? 127 00:06:09,119 –> 00:06:11,019 And so he explains it to them. 128 00:06:11,019 –> 00:06:16,000 And he says, verse 14, the farmer sows the word. 129 00:06:17,100 –> 00:06:18,799 The word. 130 00:06:18,799 –> 00:06:20,519 And then so that we understand what 131 00:06:20,519 –> 00:06:23,200 the whole story is about, in verse 15 he tells us 132 00:06:23,200 –> 00:06:27,519 that the soil or rather the effect of the seed in the soil 133 00:06:27,519 –> 00:06:30,339 is a description of different kinds of people. 134 00:06:30,380 –> 00:06:34,940 Verse 15, some people are like seed along the path. 135 00:06:34,940 –> 00:06:39,160 And then verse 16, others and so forth through the story. 136 00:06:39,160 –> 00:06:42,899 So this story is about people and the word. 137 00:06:42,899 –> 00:06:45,140 It is about the effect of the word of God 138 00:06:45,140 –> 00:06:47,380 in the lives of people. 139 00:06:47,380 –> 00:06:51,940 It is about the different ways in which people interact 140 00:06:51,940 –> 00:06:55,600 and relate to the word of God. 141 00:06:55,619 –> 00:07:00,619 The farmer, verse 14, sows the word. 142 00:07:00,619 –> 00:07:02,260 The word. 143 00:07:02,260 –> 00:07:03,940 Now, the secret of the kingdom, therefore, 144 00:07:03,940 –> 00:07:07,420 that Jesus is explaining to his disciples 145 00:07:07,420 –> 00:07:11,940 is that life under the blessings of God’s rule 146 00:07:12,799 –> 00:07:17,220 will come to people through the ministry 147 00:07:17,220 –> 00:07:21,500 and the reception of the word of God. 148 00:07:21,500 –> 00:07:23,420 And Jesus is saying to the disciples, 149 00:07:23,519 –> 00:07:25,760 no doubt, they were wondering, as we sometimes wonder, 150 00:07:25,760 –> 00:07:28,359 how can we see the blessing of God’s rule 151 00:07:28,359 –> 00:07:30,640 in this Christ-rejecting world? 152 00:07:30,640 –> 00:07:33,940 And he’s saying to them, here’s what you need to grasp. 153 00:07:33,940 –> 00:07:37,980 The word of God is living seed. 154 00:07:39,459 –> 00:07:43,519 It has life-producing power. 155 00:07:45,119 –> 00:07:49,880 If you think of the scriptures simply as information, 156 00:07:50,399 –> 00:07:52,420 think again. 157 00:07:53,959 –> 00:07:57,959 The word of God has life-giving power. 158 00:07:59,600 –> 00:08:03,399 It says, Jesus, living seed. 159 00:08:04,279 –> 00:08:07,440 That is why Peter says later in the New Testament, 160 00:08:07,440 –> 00:08:10,559 you have been born again. 161 00:08:10,559 –> 00:08:11,399 How? 162 00:08:11,399 –> 00:08:12,679 How were you born again? 163 00:08:14,059 –> 00:08:17,160 See, Peter says you were born again 164 00:08:17,160 –> 00:08:21,500 through the living and enduring. 165 00:08:21,500 –> 00:08:22,380 What? 166 00:08:22,380 –> 00:08:24,239 Word of God. 167 00:08:25,440 –> 00:08:27,980 New life came to you. 168 00:08:27,980 –> 00:08:30,279 Not just new information came to you, 169 00:08:30,279 –> 00:08:32,580 not just you heard a gospel that then somehow 170 00:08:32,580 –> 00:08:34,919 you had to make your own independent judgment about, 171 00:08:34,919 –> 00:08:37,780 no, life came to you, Peter is saying, 172 00:08:37,780 –> 00:08:42,780 how, through the living seed of the word of God. 173 00:08:43,239 –> 00:08:46,859 Now that is precisely what Jesus is teaching us here, 174 00:08:46,859 –> 00:08:49,640 that the word is living seed that will, 175 00:08:49,640 –> 00:08:52,479 under certain conditions that we’re going to look at later, 176 00:08:52,479 –> 00:08:56,539 will produce a marvelous harvest. 177 00:08:56,539 –> 00:08:58,179 The seed is the word. 178 00:08:58,179 –> 00:09:01,280 So, the first main theme here, in the story of Jesus, 179 00:09:01,280 –> 00:09:06,280 is surely that we understand and select the right seed. 180 00:09:08,539 –> 00:09:13,539 Different seeds will produce a different crop, right? 181 00:09:13,979 –> 00:09:15,979 All you gardeners, and all the folks 182 00:09:16,419 –> 00:09:19,320 that were brought up on the farm years ago, 183 00:09:19,320 –> 00:09:23,739 different seeds will produce a different crop. 184 00:09:24,659 –> 00:09:26,659 And so, as we think about ministry, 185 00:09:26,659 –> 00:09:31,659 the seed that we sow will determine the crop that we get. 186 00:09:32,320 –> 00:09:33,700 Doesn’t that follow? 187 00:09:34,679 –> 00:09:39,239 Therefore, we must choose our seed carefully. 188 00:09:39,400 –> 00:09:40,380 Carefully. 189 00:09:42,880 –> 00:09:46,919 And in the whole business of selecting the seed, 190 00:09:47,780 –> 00:09:49,880 which is really one of the critical discussions 191 00:09:49,880 –> 00:09:51,280 that goes on in church world, 192 00:09:51,280 –> 00:09:53,140 especially among pastors and leaders. 193 00:09:53,140 –> 00:09:56,099 What is the seed that’s really gonna raise the harvest? 194 00:09:56,099 –> 00:09:57,479 Well, the obvious question is, 195 00:09:57,479 –> 00:09:59,039 well, what is the harvest we’re looking for? 196 00:09:59,039 –> 00:10:00,400 What’s the crop? 197 00:10:01,679 –> 00:10:04,080 See, is the crop just a big crowd? 198 00:10:04,080 –> 00:10:06,599 Well, there are certain kinds of seed will do that. 199 00:10:07,520 –> 00:10:10,580 Is the crop a long list of decisions 200 00:10:10,580 –> 00:10:11,880 that may or may not last. 201 00:10:11,880 –> 00:10:14,539 Jesus specifies that right here in this parable. 202 00:10:14,539 –> 00:10:17,280 Well, there’s certain kinds of seed will do that too. 203 00:10:19,179 –> 00:10:21,460 But Jesus is making it clear here 204 00:10:21,460 –> 00:10:24,280 that the harvest he is looking for 205 00:10:24,280 –> 00:10:26,419 is the harvest of the kingdom. 206 00:10:26,419 –> 00:10:28,940 That is, the harvest of lives lived 207 00:10:28,940 –> 00:10:31,280 under the blessing of God’s rule. 208 00:10:33,419 –> 00:10:36,059 Now, what is the seed that will raise that harvest? 209 00:10:36,059 –> 00:10:39,119 And Jesus says the seed that will raise that harvest 210 00:10:39,119 –> 00:10:42,260 of lives lived under the blessing of God’s rule 211 00:10:42,260 –> 00:10:43,960 is the word of God. 212 00:10:43,960 –> 00:10:46,059 And there is no other seed 213 00:10:46,059 –> 00:10:49,700 that raises this harvest. 214 00:10:51,179 –> 00:10:55,840 This seed has produced this harvest 215 00:10:56,840 –> 00:11:00,700 in every generation and in every culture. 216 00:11:02,119 –> 00:11:04,840 And we can have absolute confidence 217 00:11:04,859 –> 00:11:06,200 in the middle of all the discussions 218 00:11:06,200 –> 00:11:07,859 about, what does it take to reach this generation 219 00:11:07,859 –> 00:11:09,080 and this culture? 220 00:11:09,080 –> 00:11:13,320 We can have absolute confidence 221 00:11:13,320 –> 00:11:17,840 that this seed will produce this harvest 222 00:11:17,840 –> 00:11:21,440 in our culture and in our generation. 223 00:11:21,440 –> 00:11:23,520 That is surely the first thing 224 00:11:23,520 –> 00:11:26,479 that we learn from the teaching of Jesus here. 225 00:11:26,479 –> 00:11:31,119 And that is why sowing this seed 226 00:11:31,840 –> 00:11:35,719 must be core to the ministry of our church, 227 00:11:36,700 –> 00:11:40,479 because this is the seed, Jesus says, 228 00:11:40,479 –> 00:11:44,020 that produces the crop that God is looking for, 229 00:11:44,020 –> 00:11:47,080 raises the harvest of the kingdom, 230 00:11:47,080 –> 00:11:48,340 which is surely, therefore, 231 00:11:48,340 –> 00:11:50,840 the harvest that we should be interested in too. 232 00:11:50,840 –> 00:11:53,039 That is why we keep wanting to say 233 00:11:53,039 –> 00:11:55,039 and to reinforce, what is worship about? 234 00:11:55,039 –> 00:11:58,460 It is that we sing and pray and preach 235 00:11:58,460 –> 00:12:00,260 and gather around the word of God. 236 00:12:00,260 –> 00:12:03,099 That the truth of God’s word is permeating 237 00:12:03,099 –> 00:12:05,539 and everything that we do, not just a part of it. 238 00:12:06,580 –> 00:12:08,299 That why, when we think about small groups, 239 00:12:08,299 –> 00:12:10,619 we’re thinking in terms of groups of people 240 00:12:10,619 –> 00:12:12,500 who are Velcro’d to the word of God, 241 00:12:12,500 –> 00:12:14,380 gathered together around the scriptures, 242 00:12:14,380 –> 00:12:16,140 because this is the seed 243 00:12:17,520 –> 00:12:20,419 that is going to raise this kind of harvest. 244 00:12:20,419 –> 00:12:22,080 That’s why we want to encourage families 245 00:12:22,080 –> 00:12:24,700 to be opening the Bible at home 246 00:12:24,700 –> 00:12:29,479 and sowing little seeds of God’s truth 247 00:12:29,479 –> 00:12:31,039 in the hearts of little children, 248 00:12:31,039 –> 00:12:33,719 because that’s going to be what raises a harvest. 249 00:12:33,719 –> 00:12:38,400 Jesus is telling us about the living power of the seed, 250 00:12:38,400 –> 00:12:40,400 and that is the first thing that we learn 251 00:12:40,400 –> 00:12:43,159 that we’ll guide all our thinking about ministry 252 00:12:43,159 –> 00:12:48,159 in this marvelous story about the kingdom. 253 00:12:49,400 –> 00:12:50,400 Now, here’s that second thing. 254 00:12:50,400 –> 00:12:51,479 The first is the seed. 255 00:12:51,479 –> 00:12:53,299 The seed is the word of God. 256 00:12:53,299 –> 00:12:54,799 Second, let’s just take a moment 257 00:12:54,799 –> 00:12:56,960 to ponder the life of the sower. 258 00:12:57,799 –> 00:13:02,280 For everybody who at any time shares the word of God 259 00:13:02,280 –> 00:13:05,799 in any setting, a Sunday school class, a small group, 260 00:13:05,799 –> 00:13:09,880 whatever it may be, you will resonate, I think, 261 00:13:09,880 –> 00:13:14,080 with the experience of the sower. 262 00:13:14,080 –> 00:13:16,919 Let’s just think about it for a moment. 263 00:13:16,919 –> 00:13:20,700 Try and picture in your mind the sower in Jesus’ day, 264 00:13:20,700 –> 00:13:25,700 and he’s sowing the field by throwing out the seed by hand. 265 00:13:27,960 –> 00:13:30,000 Now he’s got acres and acres of land. 266 00:13:31,059 –> 00:13:33,719 How many miles do you think he walks in a day? 267 00:13:35,200 –> 00:13:36,119 20 miles? 268 00:13:37,880 –> 00:13:42,640 And how do his legs feel and how does his arm feel 269 00:13:43,679 –> 00:13:46,080 when he trudges his way back 270 00:13:46,080 –> 00:13:49,619 after a long day of scattering seed? 271 00:13:51,400 –> 00:13:52,940 The man’s exhausted. 272 00:13:54,020 –> 00:13:56,619 His arms and his legs are aching. 273 00:13:57,919 –> 00:14:00,820 And as he looks back over the vast field 274 00:14:00,820 –> 00:14:04,039 that he has been sowing throughout the day, 275 00:14:05,099 –> 00:14:08,840 it strikes him that the field looks exactly the same 276 00:14:08,840 –> 00:14:10,039 as it did that morning. 277 00:14:11,059 –> 00:14:16,059 There is no observable difference in the field whatsoever. 278 00:14:17,640 –> 00:14:18,919 Nothing has changed. 279 00:14:20,619 –> 00:14:22,900 “‘I have worked to the point of exhaustion,’ 280 00:14:22,960 –> 00:14:24,419 he says to himself.” 281 00:14:25,599 –> 00:14:27,000 And the little voice inside says, 282 00:14:27,000 –> 00:14:29,059 “‘Now, what do I have to show for it?’ 283 00:14:30,599 –> 00:14:33,280 Now I pause here because it’s important for us 284 00:14:33,280 –> 00:14:38,280 as those who believe to recognize the hidden pressure 285 00:14:38,659 –> 00:14:42,119 that lies within all spiritual work. 286 00:14:44,239 –> 00:14:47,440 I sometimes say, to the guys in the congregation 287 00:14:47,440 –> 00:14:50,940 who work in construction, I envy you. 288 00:14:51,820 –> 00:14:54,780 And you know why I sometimes envy the guys 289 00:14:54,780 –> 00:14:56,059 who work in construction? 290 00:14:56,940 –> 00:14:58,760 Because when they leave a day’s work, 291 00:14:58,760 –> 00:15:01,539 they can see exactly what they have done. 292 00:15:02,500 –> 00:15:07,179 Something is there that wasn’t there before, 293 00:15:07,179 –> 00:15:10,700 and it’s beautifully measurable. 294 00:15:12,900 –> 00:15:15,299 When you’re engaged in any ministry of the Word, 295 00:15:15,299 –> 00:15:17,359 you’re teaching the Word to your children. 296 00:15:18,340 –> 00:15:20,679 You’re working with a group of people, 297 00:15:20,679 –> 00:15:22,059 you’re trying to disciple. 298 00:15:23,179 –> 00:15:26,679 You’re engaged in a ministry of communicating the word 299 00:15:26,679 –> 00:15:28,960 in the prison, as a number of members 300 00:15:28,960 –> 00:15:31,200 of our congregation are. 301 00:15:31,200 –> 00:15:34,820 There will be times when Satan will tempt you this way. 302 00:15:36,059 –> 00:15:37,500 He will say to you, for all you’re doing, 303 00:15:37,500 –> 00:15:38,919 what difference is it making? 304 00:15:40,119 –> 00:15:44,840 And that is precisely the experience of every sower. 305 00:15:46,320 –> 00:15:50,299 Remember the old Beatles song, Eleanor Rigby? 306 00:15:50,299 –> 00:15:51,179 Remember that one? 307 00:15:52,559 –> 00:15:55,979 Eleanor Rigby died in the church 308 00:15:55,979 –> 00:15:59,780 and was buried along with her name, nobody came, 309 00:15:59,780 –> 00:16:01,320 Father McKenzie. 310 00:16:02,539 –> 00:16:04,539 Wiping the dirt from his hands 311 00:16:04,539 –> 00:16:08,719 as he walks from the grave, no one was saved. 312 00:16:10,239 –> 00:16:13,539 Now, I will tell you that any person 313 00:16:13,539 –> 00:16:16,260 who puts their energy into communicating the gospel 314 00:16:16,260 –> 00:16:18,179 knows what this is like. 315 00:16:19,059 –> 00:16:20,859 Like the sower in Jesus story, 316 00:16:20,859 –> 00:16:23,559 you work hard to sow the seed of the word, 317 00:16:23,559 –> 00:16:27,940 but Satan comes to your mind this way and says, 318 00:16:27,940 –> 00:16:29,099 what came of it? 319 00:16:30,099 –> 00:16:31,020 What came of it? 320 00:16:32,619 –> 00:16:37,359 Now, how does the sower sustain himself in this work? 321 00:16:37,359 –> 00:16:42,359 How are you going to sustain a ministry to your children? 322 00:16:42,820 –> 00:16:45,539 How are we going to sustain ministry 323 00:16:45,539 –> 00:16:47,559 around the word in small groups? 324 00:16:47,599 –> 00:16:51,520 How do you sustain any ministry of the word? 325 00:16:52,400 –> 00:16:54,280 The answer is simply this, 326 00:16:54,280 –> 00:16:56,780 you sustain a ministry of the word 327 00:16:56,780 –> 00:17:00,340 by having great confidence in the seed. 328 00:17:01,619 –> 00:17:03,580 You see the reality is that the sower, 329 00:17:03,580 –> 00:17:06,260 as he trudges home feeling very tired indeed, 330 00:17:06,260 –> 00:17:08,699 he is not actually driven to despair 331 00:17:08,699 –> 00:17:10,599 by the fact that the field doesn’t look different 332 00:17:10,599 –> 00:17:12,199 because he never expected it to. 333 00:17:13,479 –> 00:17:17,260 He’s committed to a long-term view of ministry 334 00:17:17,260 –> 00:17:20,780 that raises substantial, multiple fruit 335 00:17:20,780 –> 00:17:25,540 and because he has such confidence in the seed, 336 00:17:25,540 –> 00:17:27,619 he is not in despair, 337 00:17:27,619 –> 00:17:31,119 but rather trusts his work to the hand of God 338 00:17:31,119 –> 00:17:34,439 who raises the harvest and knows that the next day 339 00:17:34,439 –> 00:17:38,640 he will come out and sow another field as well. 340 00:17:39,979 –> 00:17:41,000 You know I’ve been greatly helped 341 00:17:41,000 –> 00:17:42,920 by seeing that the doctrine of Scripture 342 00:17:42,920 –> 00:17:45,959 is not just what the Bible is, 343 00:17:45,959 –> 00:17:48,579 that is it is the word of God, we know that. 344 00:17:49,660 –> 00:17:53,260 But our doctrine of Scripture includes what the Bible does 345 00:17:53,260 –> 00:17:56,339 and I think some of us have not grasped that 346 00:17:56,339 –> 00:17:59,020 for sufficient encouragement yet. 347 00:17:59,020 –> 00:18:01,699 Let me just give you one cross-reference today again, 348 00:18:01,699 –> 00:18:03,500 try and keep it just to one most weeks 349 00:18:03,500 –> 00:18:07,060 and that is in Psalm 19 and verses seven and eight. 350 00:18:07,060 –> 00:18:10,959 Psalm 19 and verse seven and eight. 351 00:18:10,959 –> 00:18:14,520 It beautifully brings together what the word of God is 352 00:18:14,699 –> 00:18:16,800 and what the word of God does 353 00:18:16,800 –> 00:18:19,260 and many of us have grasped what it is 354 00:18:19,260 –> 00:18:21,040 but we need to see more clearly 355 00:18:21,040 –> 00:18:23,859 and believe more strongly what it does. 356 00:18:24,920 –> 00:18:27,479 Psalm 19 verses seven and eight. 357 00:18:27,479 –> 00:18:30,560 The law of the Lord is perfect. 358 00:18:30,560 –> 00:18:32,560 That’s what it is. 359 00:18:32,560 –> 00:18:34,119 What does it do? 360 00:18:34,119 –> 00:18:37,180 It revives the soul. 361 00:18:37,180 –> 00:18:39,079 The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy 362 00:18:39,079 –> 00:18:41,900 that’s what they are but what do they do? 363 00:18:41,900 –> 00:18:44,439 The make wise the simple. 364 00:18:44,880 –> 00:18:46,140 The precepts of the Lord are right. 365 00:18:46,140 –> 00:18:47,839 That’s what they are. 366 00:18:47,839 –> 00:18:49,020 But what do they do? 367 00:18:49,020 –> 00:18:51,260 They give joy to the heart. 368 00:18:52,140 –> 00:18:54,060 And the commands of the Lord are radiant. 369 00:18:54,060 –> 00:18:56,020 That’s what they are but what do they do? 370 00:18:56,020 –> 00:18:58,300 They give light to the eyes. 371 00:18:59,640 –> 00:19:02,260 You see what the Psalmist David has discovered 372 00:19:02,260 –> 00:19:05,500 and what he’s telling us under the inspiration of God. 373 00:19:05,500 –> 00:19:07,760 He’s saying look, it’s not just that this word 374 00:19:07,760 –> 00:19:10,859 is perfect and trustworthy and true. 375 00:19:10,859 –> 00:19:11,939 We know that. 376 00:19:12,939 –> 00:19:16,439 It’s that this word actually brings life, 377 00:19:17,500 –> 00:19:19,619 it revives the soul. 378 00:19:19,619 –> 00:19:23,699 It makes simple people who don’t understand things wise. 379 00:19:23,699 –> 00:19:25,400 How do simple people who don’t get it 380 00:19:25,400 –> 00:19:27,619 become wise through the word of God? 381 00:19:27,619 –> 00:19:29,780 That’s its effect because its living seed. 382 00:19:29,780 –> 00:19:32,640 It’s not just information. 383 00:19:32,640 –> 00:19:35,540 It communicates life, it gives joy to the heart, 384 00:19:35,540 –> 00:19:37,599 it gives light to the eyes. 385 00:19:37,599 –> 00:19:40,339 It’s not just what it is, 386 00:19:40,400 –> 00:19:41,239 the word of God. 387 00:19:41,239 –> 00:19:45,099 It’s what it does, it does the work of God. 388 00:19:45,099 –> 00:19:47,420 That is why the sword of the spirit 389 00:19:47,420 –> 00:19:50,859 is the word of God. 390 00:19:50,859 –> 00:19:52,640 That is our doctrine of scripture, 391 00:19:53,939 –> 00:19:55,219 that is what we believe, 392 00:19:55,219 –> 00:19:58,219 and that is how sores are sustained 393 00:19:58,219 –> 00:20:01,439 in their ministry. 394 00:20:03,040 –> 00:20:06,880 Now, let’s move to the third great theme here 395 00:20:06,880 –> 00:20:09,459 which is the theme of course of the soils. 396 00:20:10,780 –> 00:20:15,780 Jesus’ story tells us about four different kinds of soil, 397 00:20:15,800 –> 00:20:20,599 and these represent different kinds of people. 398 00:20:20,599 –> 00:20:22,839 Verse 15, some people, 399 00:20:22,839 –> 00:20:25,880 some people are like the seed on hard ground 400 00:20:25,880 –> 00:20:29,160 and other people are like the seed on shallow ground. 401 00:20:29,160 –> 00:20:33,000 Others, again, are like the seed on choked ground, 402 00:20:33,000 –> 00:20:36,920 and so Jesus is describing people who hear the word, 403 00:20:37,780 –> 00:20:39,079 people who hear the word. 404 00:20:40,540 –> 00:20:42,900 Now we have a name for people who hear the word, 405 00:20:42,900 –> 00:20:44,939 at least on Sunday morning. 406 00:20:44,939 –> 00:20:48,459 We call them the congregation, right? 407 00:20:50,219 –> 00:20:53,040 So this is for us. 408 00:20:53,040 –> 00:20:54,199 This is for us, 409 00:20:55,339 –> 00:20:59,380 us folks who hear the word of God, 410 00:21:00,719 –> 00:21:03,560 and what we have here is nothing less 411 00:21:03,560 –> 00:21:07,359 than Jesus Christ’s assessment of the congregation. 412 00:21:08,260 –> 00:21:12,500 This is the report of Jesus Christ 413 00:21:12,500 –> 00:21:17,500 on what is going on inside the people who hear the word, 414 00:21:19,339 –> 00:21:20,939 and it’s very fascinating. 415 00:21:23,060 –> 00:21:25,020 Some people, Jesus said, 416 00:21:26,439 –> 00:21:27,859 are simply hard. 417 00:21:29,819 –> 00:21:31,040 Verse 15, 418 00:21:31,040 –> 00:21:33,339 some people are like seed along the path 419 00:21:33,339 –> 00:21:35,280 where the word is sown, 420 00:21:35,280 –> 00:21:36,560 and as soon as they hear it, 421 00:21:36,640 –> 00:21:41,040 Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. 422 00:21:42,880 –> 00:21:44,400 Jesus is saying look, 423 00:21:44,400 –> 00:21:46,339 this is what you have to understand 424 00:21:46,339 –> 00:21:48,119 in relation to the ministry of the Word. 425 00:21:48,119 –> 00:21:50,619 That whatever the Word is given, 426 00:21:51,920 –> 00:21:54,280 it is given to some people who are hard. 427 00:21:55,359 –> 00:21:57,420 Now, we can ask the question why is it 428 00:21:57,420 –> 00:22:00,380 that many people today are hard 429 00:22:00,380 –> 00:22:01,800 towards the things of Christ, 430 00:22:01,800 –> 00:22:03,920 though, of course, if you’re hard, 431 00:22:03,920 –> 00:22:06,040 you’re hard towards any seed. 432 00:22:06,920 –> 00:22:09,060 Which is the great problem with hardness. 433 00:22:10,319 –> 00:22:11,939 But if we ask the question 434 00:22:11,939 –> 00:22:13,839 why is it that many people today 435 00:22:13,839 –> 00:22:16,939 seem hard towards the Word of God. 436 00:22:16,939 –> 00:22:18,619 I mean, we could come up with many answers. 437 00:22:18,619 –> 00:22:22,239 Some commentators note the fact that the path is hard 438 00:22:22,239 –> 00:22:24,839 because people have been trampling all over it. 439 00:22:24,839 –> 00:22:26,000 Maybe you feel like that, 440 00:22:26,000 –> 00:22:28,079 boy, you see, if you knew my history, 441 00:22:29,439 –> 00:22:31,359 people have been walking over me all my life 442 00:22:31,359 –> 00:22:33,900 and I’ve had to develop a kind of a tough shell 443 00:22:33,979 –> 00:22:36,839 and that’s been the course of my life 444 00:22:36,839 –> 00:22:38,000 and the story of my life 445 00:22:38,000 –> 00:22:39,140 and you don’t know the half of it 446 00:22:39,140 –> 00:22:40,979 and I’ve no doubt that that is true. 447 00:22:43,560 –> 00:22:45,520 We could take a long time discussing 448 00:22:45,520 –> 00:22:47,579 how hardness comes about 449 00:22:49,020 –> 00:22:51,660 but the real question for you 450 00:22:53,180 –> 00:22:54,900 is not so much how did it come about 451 00:22:54,900 –> 00:22:57,040 but what can be done of it. 452 00:22:58,180 –> 00:22:59,439 What can be done about it? 453 00:23:00,000 –> 00:23:02,900 What can be done about the condition 454 00:23:04,079 –> 00:23:07,339 of those of us who for whatever reason 455 00:23:08,359 –> 00:23:12,479 are hard and therefore the Word of God 456 00:23:12,479 –> 00:23:16,040 and frankly any other seed doesn’t thrive in our life. 457 00:23:16,939 –> 00:23:19,280 I’m gonna answer that question today 458 00:23:20,979 –> 00:23:24,199 but there are other conditions among us, 459 00:23:24,199 –> 00:23:25,319 some are hard, 460 00:23:25,959 –> 00:23:27,140 some are hard, 461 00:23:28,500 –> 00:23:29,859 some are shallow. 462 00:23:30,880 –> 00:23:32,719 That’s the second category in Jesus’ story. 463 00:23:32,719 –> 00:23:34,180 Verse 16 and 17. 464 00:23:34,180 –> 00:23:37,219 Others like seeds sown on rocky places, 465 00:23:37,219 –> 00:23:40,979 they hear the Word and at once they receive it with joy. 466 00:23:40,979 –> 00:23:43,400 So this is a person with a very smiling face. 467 00:23:44,459 –> 00:23:47,180 But since they have no root, they last only a short time 468 00:23:47,180 –> 00:23:50,199 and when trouble or persecution comes because of the Word 469 00:23:51,060 –> 00:23:52,599 they quickly fall away. 470 00:23:53,459 –> 00:23:55,800 As says Jesus, some people are like stony ground 471 00:23:55,800 –> 00:23:59,479 or ground where the earth is only shallow, 472 00:23:59,479 –> 00:24:03,500 the soil is shallow, and so any effect of the seed 473 00:24:03,500 –> 00:24:06,680 is only temporary in their lives. 474 00:24:06,680 –> 00:24:08,640 In other words, they profess faith for a time 475 00:24:08,640 –> 00:24:11,939 and then they move away and abandon it. 476 00:24:11,939 –> 00:24:13,660 Now we’ve already seen that that seems to be 477 00:24:13,660 –> 00:24:16,739 in epidemic proportions in our time. 478 00:24:18,040 –> 00:24:20,439 Here are folks who have joy and enthusiasm, 479 00:24:20,459 –> 00:24:23,239 in the short-term, but no depth. 480 00:24:23,239 –> 00:24:24,599 They are like cut flowers. 481 00:24:24,599 –> 00:24:26,880 Jesus says they have no root 482 00:24:26,880 –> 00:24:28,900 and therefore, just like cut flowers, 483 00:24:28,900 –> 00:24:31,300 they fairly quickly wither. 484 00:24:32,199 –> 00:24:34,359 They don’t think deeply. 485 00:24:34,359 –> 00:24:37,040 They don’t feel deeply. 486 00:24:37,040 –> 00:24:38,479 They have no root. 487 00:24:39,760 –> 00:24:41,319 Now again, we can ask the question, 488 00:24:41,319 –> 00:24:42,760 why is it that we live 489 00:24:42,760 –> 00:24:45,400 in what seems to be a shallow culture today? 490 00:24:45,400 –> 00:24:47,900 I think that would be a comment that’s often made 491 00:24:47,900 –> 00:24:49,760 about the culture in which we live 492 00:24:49,780 –> 00:24:51,219 that there’s a shallowness about it. 493 00:24:51,219 –> 00:24:52,699 We can do all kinds of analysis 494 00:24:52,699 –> 00:24:56,699 about the media, the dumbing down of culture, 495 00:24:56,699 –> 00:24:59,040 the pace of life that has us skimming 496 00:24:59,040 –> 00:25:00,859 from one thing to the next thing 497 00:25:00,859 –> 00:25:02,959 in our endless and relentless search 498 00:25:02,959 –> 00:25:04,619 for the next experience. 499 00:25:04,619 –> 00:25:06,140 We could spend a long time 500 00:25:06,140 –> 00:25:10,280 about why shallowness happens in people’s lives. 501 00:25:11,140 –> 00:25:13,140 And, of course, if you’re shallow, 502 00:25:13,140 –> 00:25:15,420 it will affect every area of your life, 503 00:25:16,380 –> 00:25:20,619 marriage, parenting, work, everything. 504 00:25:20,619 –> 00:25:21,459 You’re shallow. 505 00:25:22,739 –> 00:25:27,739 The real question is not what caused the shallowness. 506 00:25:30,060 –> 00:25:33,599 The real question is what can be done about it. 507 00:25:34,900 –> 00:25:39,900 What hope is there for folks who’ve become shallow 508 00:25:42,339 –> 00:25:43,560 in this culture? 509 00:25:44,420 –> 00:25:47,859 For folks who are wonderfully enthusiastic 510 00:25:47,859 –> 00:25:51,280 about all kinds of things but it never lasts 511 00:25:51,280 –> 00:25:54,239 and so they drift through life with constant new beginnings 512 00:25:55,319 –> 00:25:56,719 and no perseverance. 513 00:25:58,479 –> 00:26:01,880 We’re going to answer that question in just a moment. 514 00:26:01,880 –> 00:26:04,479 There’s a third category in Jesus’ story here. 515 00:26:04,479 –> 00:26:06,800 You see it in verse 18 and 19. 516 00:26:06,800 –> 00:26:08,640 Some people are preoccupied. 517 00:26:08,640 –> 00:26:10,599 Why does this hit close to hope? 518 00:26:11,520 –> 00:26:14,359 Still others, like seed sown among the thorns 519 00:26:14,359 –> 00:26:18,540 hear the word but the worries of this life 520 00:26:18,540 –> 00:26:21,140 and the deceitfulness of wealth 521 00:26:22,040 –> 00:26:26,920 and desires for other things come in 522 00:26:26,920 –> 00:26:31,260 and choke the word making it unfruitful. 523 00:26:32,579 –> 00:26:34,859 Now Jesus says you can picture it this way 524 00:26:34,859 –> 00:26:38,060 that some folks are like ground covered 525 00:26:38,099 –> 00:26:42,800 with weeds and though the seed may have some 526 00:26:42,800 –> 00:26:44,900 growth there very quickly, what happens 527 00:26:44,900 –> 00:26:48,819 is that the other weeds that are already 528 00:26:48,819 –> 00:26:52,500 in the ground coming up choke the advance 529 00:26:52,500 –> 00:26:55,380 and progress of the word in this persons life 530 00:26:55,380 –> 00:26:58,099 and Jesus even identifies what the primary 531 00:26:58,099 –> 00:27:00,540 weeds are and we recognize them immediately 532 00:27:00,540 –> 00:27:01,959 don’t we? 533 00:27:01,959 –> 00:27:03,420 Worry. 534 00:27:03,420 –> 00:27:06,619 I can really choke the progress of the word 535 00:27:06,640 –> 00:27:08,380 in your life, 536 00:27:08,380 –> 00:27:11,619 a life that is given to worry. 537 00:27:12,760 –> 00:27:14,739 The deceitfulness of wealth 538 00:27:15,739 –> 00:27:19,280 the way in which money works its own power 539 00:27:19,280 –> 00:27:22,900 in our lives unless we overcome that 540 00:27:22,900 –> 00:27:26,439 and the desire for other things. 541 00:27:27,900 –> 00:27:30,500 These things together leaves so many people 542 00:27:30,500 –> 00:27:33,540 with a sense of frustration. 543 00:27:33,540 –> 00:27:36,400 I don’t have room for everything in my life. 544 00:27:37,359 –> 00:27:40,160 And Jesus is saying that this preoccupation, 545 00:27:40,160 –> 00:27:42,459 this overcrowdedness of life, 546 00:27:43,839 –> 00:27:45,920 this desire for other things, 547 00:27:45,920 –> 00:27:49,459 this, I have to have it all and I have to have it now. 548 00:27:49,459 –> 00:27:50,560 That will choke 549 00:27:51,479 –> 00:27:55,479 the progress of the Word of God in your life. 550 00:27:55,479 –> 00:27:59,040 Now surely we recognize that as speaking to our times. 551 00:27:59,040 –> 00:28:02,160 And again we could spend a long time 552 00:28:02,160 –> 00:28:04,520 talking about, you know, what are the factors 553 00:28:04,520 –> 00:28:08,300 that make people preoccupied and lead to overrowded lives. 554 00:28:08,300 –> 00:28:11,939 We can talk about a multichoice culture, 555 00:28:11,939 –> 00:28:13,719 we can talk about too many options, 556 00:28:13,719 –> 00:28:15,839 we can talk about the pressure of advertising 557 00:28:15,839 –> 00:28:18,099 and all the rest of it the competition 558 00:28:18,099 –> 00:28:21,479 in relation to raising children, whatever that is. 559 00:28:21,479 –> 00:28:24,420 But the question is not so much how did we get there, 560 00:28:24,420 –> 00:28:27,939 the question is what can be done about it? 561 00:28:29,079 –> 00:28:31,319 What can be done about it 562 00:28:32,260 –> 00:28:35,420 if your life is preoccupied with worry, 563 00:28:37,400 –> 00:28:41,079 it is preoccupied with the pursuit of wealth, 564 00:28:45,000 –> 00:28:47,280 if your life is preoccupied simply 565 00:28:47,280 –> 00:28:49,859 by the desire for other things? 566 00:28:49,859 –> 00:28:52,680 Or is something else I want to do? 567 00:28:54,119 –> 00:28:56,479 When I remember that Jesus is describing us here, 568 00:28:56,479 –> 00:28:58,339 and the more I ponder this this week, 569 00:28:58,339 –> 00:29:00,420 the more I’ve become convinced, 570 00:29:00,560 –> 00:29:02,000 boy, this really is us, isn’t it? 571 00:29:02,000 –> 00:29:03,260 This is life in our culture. 572 00:29:03,260 –> 00:29:06,040 This is Jesus speaking to me, 573 00:29:06,040 –> 00:29:09,319 the great temptations of my life. 574 00:29:10,479 –> 00:29:13,180 A congregation that hears the word of God. 575 00:29:14,380 –> 00:29:16,239 And some of us are hard, 576 00:29:17,160 –> 00:29:19,219 and some of us are shallow. 577 00:29:20,560 –> 00:29:23,199 And some of us are preoccupied, 578 00:29:24,520 –> 00:29:29,079 but Jesus says some of us will become very fruitful. 579 00:29:29,199 –> 00:29:33,819 Verse 20, others, like seed-sown on good soil, 580 00:29:33,819 –> 00:29:36,300 will hear the word, they accept it, 581 00:29:36,300 –> 00:29:38,479 and they produce a crop, 582 00:29:38,479 –> 00:29:43,479 30, 60, or even 100 times what was sown. 583 00:29:43,619 –> 00:29:47,459 In the lives of these folks, the living seed comes 584 00:29:47,459 –> 00:29:51,160 and it breaks down within the context of their lives 585 00:29:51,160 –> 00:29:56,160 and out of this produces a glorious harvest 586 00:29:56,400 –> 00:30:01,400 of life lived under the blessing of God’s rule. 587 00:30:03,800 –> 00:30:06,660 Now, what kind of ground are you? 588 00:30:08,439 –> 00:30:10,660 Actually, we can be pretty objective about this 589 00:30:10,660 –> 00:30:14,180 because to determine what kind of ground you are, 590 00:30:14,180 –> 00:30:16,119 all you need to do is to look at the effect 591 00:30:16,119 –> 00:30:19,839 of God’s word in your life over these last years. 592 00:30:21,079 –> 00:30:23,540 Are you joyfully submitting to the rule of God 593 00:30:23,540 –> 00:30:25,520 in your life so that you are bearing fruit 594 00:30:25,619 –> 00:30:27,079 under the blessing of God? 595 00:30:28,400 –> 00:30:30,979 Or has that kind of fruitfulness really been choked 596 00:30:30,979 –> 00:30:32,119 in your life, 597 00:30:34,119 –> 00:30:35,500 or would it be that you would say, 598 00:30:35,500 –> 00:30:38,699 you know, it was there once but I’m not sure now, 599 00:30:38,699 –> 00:30:40,800 or maybe it has never been there at all? 600 00:30:41,880 –> 00:30:44,380 Now, if you are concluding 601 00:30:46,300 –> 00:30:51,300 that you are hard or that you are shallow 602 00:30:51,819 –> 00:30:53,540 or that you are preoccupied 603 00:30:55,099 –> 00:30:57,180 and that you have been unfruitful, 604 00:30:58,300 –> 00:30:59,500 what can you do about it? 605 00:31:00,500 –> 00:31:03,359 Now that really is the bottom line question, isn’t it? 606 00:31:03,359 –> 00:31:04,199 What can you do? 607 00:31:05,819 –> 00:31:07,719 What can you do? 608 00:31:09,859 –> 00:31:12,880 The soil cannot change its own condition. 609 00:31:14,339 –> 00:31:16,459 So what hope is there for you? 610 00:31:18,479 –> 00:31:19,400 Just this, 611 00:31:22,219 –> 00:31:25,199 thank God for the farmer. 612 00:31:26,680 –> 00:31:30,579 Thank God for the farmer. 613 00:31:32,219 –> 00:31:37,219 Thank God that the field with its varying conditions of soil 614 00:31:37,239 –> 00:31:39,920 is not left to itself. 615 00:31:41,040 –> 00:31:43,780 The good news of the gospel 616 00:31:43,780 –> 00:31:47,339 is that God can break up the hardest ground, 617 00:31:48,400 –> 00:31:50,000 that God, in his mercy, 618 00:31:50,000 –> 00:31:54,160 can remove the biggest ugliest stones, 619 00:31:54,160 –> 00:31:56,540 and that God is in his incredible grace 620 00:31:56,540 –> 00:31:59,780 can pull out the most stubborn weeds. 621 00:32:00,800 –> 00:32:04,500 You do not have the capacity to change your heart 622 00:32:04,500 –> 00:32:08,780 but God does and that is the promise of the gospel. 623 00:32:09,680 –> 00:32:14,680 Ezekiel chapter 36 and verse 26 puts it so clearly. 624 00:32:15,040 –> 00:32:19,380 God says, I will give you a new heart. 625 00:32:19,439 –> 00:32:21,579 I will put a new spirit in you. 626 00:32:21,579 –> 00:32:25,540 I will remove from you a heart of stone 627 00:32:25,540 –> 00:32:28,219 and I will give you a heart of flesh. 628 00:32:28,219 –> 00:32:30,319 That is the gospel. 629 00:32:30,319 –> 00:32:35,319 That is the promise of God to us in Jesus Christ. 630 00:32:35,439 –> 00:32:37,979 You do not have the capacity to change your heart 631 00:32:37,979 –> 00:32:42,239 but God does and that is the promise of the gospel. 632 00:32:42,239 –> 00:32:45,300 Thank God for the farmer 633 00:32:46,020 –> 00:32:49,459 because if it was not for the farmer 634 00:32:49,459 –> 00:32:54,380 all of us would be hard and shallow 635 00:32:54,380 –> 00:32:57,439 and preoccupied for a lifetime. 636 00:32:58,780 –> 00:33:01,359 Thank God for the farmer. 637 00:33:01,359 –> 00:33:03,219 James Boyce puts this so well. 638 00:33:03,219 –> 00:33:04,560 He says and I quote, 639 00:33:04,560 –> 00:33:07,239 the soil cannot change its nature 640 00:33:08,180 –> 00:33:09,780 but although you can do nothing, 641 00:33:09,780 –> 00:33:12,199 there is one who can, the divine gardener. 642 00:33:12,280 –> 00:33:14,199 He can break up the hard ground, 643 00:33:14,199 –> 00:33:16,359 uproot the rocks, and remove the thorns. 644 00:33:16,359 –> 00:33:17,560 That is your hope, 645 00:33:17,560 –> 00:33:20,040 not you but the gardener. 646 00:33:21,380 –> 00:33:22,479 That’s the gospel. 647 00:33:25,239 –> 00:33:27,140 If you see that today and if you believe it, 648 00:33:27,140 –> 00:33:29,859 why would you not come to Jesus Christ 649 00:33:29,859 –> 00:33:32,699 and ask him to give you a heart 650 00:33:32,699 –> 00:33:34,239 that will receive the gospel, 651 00:33:34,239 –> 00:33:36,119 a heart that will become fruitful 652 00:33:36,119 –> 00:33:37,540 in relation to his Word? 653 00:33:38,500 –> 00:33:42,300 That’s how lives are brought under 654 00:33:42,300 –> 00:33:44,180 the blessing of the will of God 655 00:33:46,000 –> 00:33:49,020 by the gracious work of the farmer. 656 00:33:52,479 –> 00:33:55,280 The seed, the sower, 657 00:33:55,280 –> 00:33:57,979 the varying conditions of the soil 658 00:33:57,979 –> 00:33:59,979 and here’s the last thing, the harvest 659 00:33:59,979 –> 00:34:02,680 and some wonderful encouragement here. 660 00:34:02,680 –> 00:34:05,479 What does it take to raise a great harvest? 661 00:34:05,920 –> 00:34:07,459 That’s really a question that arises 662 00:34:07,459 –> 00:34:08,580 directly from this story. 663 00:34:08,580 –> 00:34:12,300 What does it take to raise a great harvest? 664 00:34:12,300 –> 00:34:13,600 Surely this, 665 00:34:14,659 –> 00:34:17,879 our work which is sowing the seed 666 00:34:17,879 –> 00:34:21,860 and God’s work which is ploughing the ground. 667 00:34:21,860 –> 00:34:24,379 Our work that is sowing the seed 668 00:34:24,379 –> 00:34:29,000 and God’s work that is preparing or ploughing the ground. 669 00:34:29,000 –> 00:34:31,699 Sowing the seed is our work, 670 00:34:32,600 –> 00:34:35,860 ploughing the ground is God’s work. 671 00:34:37,159 –> 00:34:40,179 Both are needed if there is to be a great harvest. 672 00:34:40,179 –> 00:34:41,300 Both are needed. 673 00:34:42,879 –> 00:34:46,159 The mandate that is given to us to communicate the gospel, 674 00:34:46,159 –> 00:34:47,899 to impart the word of God 675 00:34:49,159 –> 00:34:51,780 and the work of God’s grace to change human hearts, 676 00:34:51,780 –> 00:34:55,879 we can’t do that, but that is what God does. 677 00:34:55,879 –> 00:35:00,879 Both are needed if there is to be a great harvest. 678 00:35:02,179 –> 00:35:06,199 Now, that just leads me to two conclusions this morning. 679 00:35:06,199 –> 00:35:09,000 The first is this, that we can count on God 680 00:35:09,000 –> 00:35:10,840 to do what he has promised to do. 681 00:35:11,899 –> 00:35:14,080 We can count on God to be at work, 682 00:35:14,080 –> 00:35:18,239 ploughing up hard ground and alleviating stony ground 683 00:35:18,239 –> 00:35:21,360 and breaking up thorny ground. 684 00:35:21,360 –> 00:35:23,959 We can count on God to do what he’s promised, 685 00:35:23,959 –> 00:35:25,379 to take away a heart of stone 686 00:35:25,379 –> 00:35:28,879 and to give a heart of flesh. 687 00:35:29,860 –> 00:35:31,879 Let me just share with you something 688 00:35:31,879 –> 00:35:33,540 that came as a wonderful encouragement to me 689 00:35:33,540 –> 00:35:35,439 this week in my own study. 690 00:35:35,439 –> 00:35:37,300 I’ve never, never noticed this before. 691 00:35:37,300 –> 00:35:38,860 I’m just going to read you a quote, 692 00:35:38,860 –> 00:35:41,840 and I hope you will see how encouraging this is. 693 00:35:42,919 –> 00:35:45,860 William Lane, one of the commentators on Mark, 694 00:35:45,860 –> 00:35:49,020 makes the point that in the time of Jesus, 695 00:35:49,020 –> 00:35:54,020 ploughing happened after sowing. 696 00:35:54,979 –> 00:35:55,820 You see, in our culture, 697 00:35:55,820 –> 00:35:58,820 of course, it’s always the other way around, right? 698 00:35:59,080 –> 00:36:01,020 Plow first, then you sow. 699 00:36:01,020 –> 00:36:02,139 But listen to William Lane, 700 00:36:02,139 –> 00:36:04,899 and you’ll see the point of this in just a moment. 701 00:36:04,899 –> 00:36:06,719 “‘The parable of the sower,’ he says, 702 00:36:06,719 –> 00:36:08,959 “‘is faithful to the life situation 703 00:36:08,959 –> 00:36:11,520 “‘in Palestinian agriculture, 704 00:36:11,520 –> 00:36:14,500 “‘in which ploughing follows sowing. 705 00:36:15,419 –> 00:36:18,780 “‘The sower, then, is not careless 706 00:36:18,780 –> 00:36:21,879 “‘when he scatters the seed on the path 707 00:36:21,879 –> 00:36:24,320 “‘or among the thorns or on the ground 708 00:36:24,320 –> 00:36:26,699 “‘which has no depth of soil. 709 00:36:26,800 –> 00:36:29,879 “‘He does so intentionally, 710 00:36:29,879 –> 00:36:33,620 “‘for the path on which the villagers have trodden 711 00:36:33,620 –> 00:36:38,560 “‘will be ploughed up to receive the seed.’” 712 00:36:39,939 –> 00:36:41,939 Now, you just think about that. 713 00:36:41,939 –> 00:36:44,899 It is the most marvelous encouragement. 714 00:36:45,919 –> 00:36:48,179 You may sometimes share the Word of God, 715 00:36:48,179 –> 00:36:49,780 you know, you meet someone on the train, 716 00:36:49,780 –> 00:36:51,699 or you communicate the gospel, 717 00:36:51,699 –> 00:36:53,139 or you’re doing this with your kids, 718 00:36:53,139 –> 00:36:54,439 or you’re working with your small group, 719 00:36:54,639 –> 00:36:56,000 or you’ve got some ministry of preaching, 720 00:36:56,000 –> 00:36:57,100 or whatever it is, 721 00:36:58,320 –> 00:37:01,379 and you may feel that after you’ve spoken truth, 722 00:37:01,379 –> 00:37:03,800 as far as you were concerned, 723 00:37:03,800 –> 00:37:06,320 it was just like seed falling on hard ground. 724 00:37:07,899 –> 00:37:10,719 But listen, you don’t know 725 00:37:10,719 –> 00:37:13,219 where God will be ploughing next week. 726 00:37:15,120 –> 00:37:17,040 And when the plow comes, 727 00:37:18,139 –> 00:37:19,679 the seed that has been dropped 728 00:37:19,679 –> 00:37:22,760 gets tipped into the opened ground, 729 00:37:22,760 –> 00:37:25,399 and everything is changed. 730 00:37:27,439 –> 00:37:30,000 God will be faithful in plowing. 731 00:37:30,000 –> 00:37:32,879 You never know where he’s been plowing this week, 732 00:37:32,879 –> 00:37:35,760 and you never know where he’s going to be plowing next week. 733 00:37:35,760 –> 00:37:37,159 But you can be certain about this. 734 00:37:37,159 –> 00:37:39,120 We can be certain about this in ministry, 735 00:37:39,120 –> 00:37:41,719 that God will be faithful in his work of plowing. 736 00:37:43,219 –> 00:37:47,679 Therefore, we must be intentional 737 00:37:47,679 –> 00:37:49,560 about our work of sowing. 738 00:37:49,560 –> 00:37:52,540 We must sow indiscriminately 739 00:37:53,600 –> 00:37:55,919 we must sow everywhere we can. 740 00:37:57,000 –> 00:37:58,719 We must sow without worrying 741 00:37:58,719 –> 00:38:01,280 about the particular conditions of people’s hearts, 742 00:38:01,280 –> 00:38:03,360 because God will do his work 743 00:38:03,360 –> 00:38:06,679 as he has trusted us to do our work. 744 00:38:06,679 –> 00:38:10,360 We must be intentional about sowing the seed. 745 00:38:10,360 –> 00:38:15,360 The finest seed will not raise a harvest 746 00:38:15,959 –> 00:38:18,159 if it’s piled in the barn. 747 00:38:18,159 –> 00:38:19,000 Ah. 748 00:38:21,520 –> 00:38:23,239 And when you take the seed out, 749 00:38:23,239 –> 00:38:24,800 you don’t have it in your hopper 750 00:38:24,800 –> 00:38:26,520 and then dump it all in one place 751 00:38:26,520 –> 00:38:28,719 because that won’t do any good. 752 00:38:30,080 –> 00:38:33,340 You have to scatter it, you have to spread it 753 00:38:34,239 –> 00:38:37,959 as widely as you possibly can. 754 00:38:39,959 –> 00:38:43,520 And Jesus says this will bring a harvest. 755 00:38:43,639 –> 00:38:48,639 30, 60, even 100 times what was sown, 756 00:38:50,120 –> 00:38:53,959 by the way, 30 times, certainly in the time of Jesus, 757 00:38:53,959 –> 00:38:54,939 I’m not sure what it is now, 758 00:38:54,939 –> 00:38:56,679 but 30 times in the time of Jesus 759 00:38:56,679 –> 00:38:59,020 would have been a bumper crop. 760 00:39:00,540 –> 00:39:03,919 So 60 or 100 is off the charts unimaginable. 761 00:39:03,919 –> 00:39:06,199 That’s out of this world literally. 762 00:39:07,320 –> 00:39:09,120 And you see what Jesus is saying 763 00:39:09,120 –> 00:39:11,820 to people who couldn’t imagine a harvest more than 30, 764 00:39:11,820 –> 00:39:14,159 that’s the best we could ever, ever predict. 765 00:39:15,820 –> 00:39:17,560 Jesus is saying, look, 766 00:39:19,000 –> 00:39:21,419 God, the Father can do more in your life 767 00:39:21,419 –> 00:39:23,719 through His word than you can ever imagine, 768 00:39:25,699 –> 00:39:28,360 and God can raise a harvest through your life 769 00:39:28,360 –> 00:39:29,899 and through the ministry of the church 770 00:39:29,899 –> 00:39:32,840 that is more than any of us can ever imagine. 771 00:39:35,100 –> 00:39:39,699 And when the word of God gets into the soil of your life, 772 00:39:39,800 –> 00:39:44,800 there is no telling what God will raise up through you. 773 00:39:48,100 –> 00:39:50,780 How will God establish His kingdom 774 00:39:50,780 –> 00:39:52,500 in a world that rejects the king? 775 00:39:54,459 –> 00:39:56,939 How can there be any hope 776 00:39:56,939 –> 00:39:59,939 for people who are hard or shallow or choked up? 777 00:39:59,939 –> 00:40:02,540 How can there be any prospect of them finding 778 00:40:02,540 –> 00:40:04,800 the blessing of life under the reign of God? 779 00:40:05,760 –> 00:40:06,800 We sow the seed, 780 00:40:08,280 –> 00:40:13,199 God plows the ground and there will be a great harvest. 781 00:40:13,199 –> 00:40:18,139 Christ will establish His kingdom. 782 00:40:20,139 –> 00:40:21,540 And at a moment where, no doubt, 783 00:40:21,540 –> 00:40:24,639 the disciples were very discouraged by all this rejection, 784 00:40:24,639 –> 00:40:28,840 Jesus tells this wonderful story to lift up their horizons, 785 00:40:28,840 –> 00:40:31,580 to encourage them and to sustain them in ministry, 786 00:40:31,620 –> 00:40:33,360 look, on the last day, 787 00:40:34,459 –> 00:40:37,040 there will be a great multitude 788 00:40:37,040 –> 00:40:39,260 gathered round the throne of God, 789 00:40:40,260 –> 00:40:45,100 praising the lamb, and enjoying the full blessing of life 790 00:40:45,100 –> 00:40:47,439 under the reign and rule of God. 791 00:40:47,439 –> 00:40:50,000 And how did they get there? 792 00:40:51,939 –> 00:40:54,360 God’s people sowed the word, 793 00:40:55,239 –> 00:40:58,739 and God’s spirit plowed the ground. 794 00:40:58,820 –> 00:41:01,500 And there was a great harvest. 795 00:41:04,219 –> 00:41:05,679 Let’s pray together, shall we? 796 00:41:06,879 –> 00:41:11,879 Father, strengthen our faith and our confidence today, 797 00:41:13,100 –> 00:41:16,260 individually and as a congregation, 798 00:41:16,260 –> 00:41:18,300 in the living power of your word. 799 00:41:21,360 –> 00:41:23,659 Put this so deep in us that we really believe 800 00:41:23,659 –> 00:41:25,679 that God’s word changes lives. 801 00:41:26,340 –> 00:41:30,300 And then strengthen our faith today 802 00:41:30,300 –> 00:41:33,179 that you’re always plowing the ground. 803 00:41:35,199 –> 00:41:37,840 Some of us think of a son, a daughter, 804 00:41:38,739 –> 00:41:42,780 they’ve heard the word, the ground’s hard. 805 00:41:42,780 –> 00:41:46,540 Oh Father, plow there, plow there. 806 00:41:48,500 –> 00:41:51,979 Plow there soon, plow there quickly. 807 00:41:51,979 –> 00:41:52,820 Plow there. 808 00:41:55,879 –> 00:41:59,780 Some of us have recognized this morning 809 00:41:59,780 –> 00:42:01,520 that there’s a hardness in us, 810 00:42:03,580 –> 00:42:05,719 there’s a shallowness in me, 811 00:42:08,060 –> 00:42:11,000 there’s a choking of your work in my life 812 00:42:11,000 –> 00:42:13,080 because of my desire for other things 813 00:42:13,080 –> 00:42:15,639 and the deceitfulness of wealth in my life 814 00:42:15,639 –> 00:42:18,780 and my giving myself over to worry. 815 00:42:21,580 –> 00:42:24,159 Oh God, I cannot change that, but you can. 816 00:42:24,959 –> 00:42:27,820 Plow here, plow here. 817 00:42:30,939 –> 00:42:33,100 And take away the heart of stone and by your grace 818 00:42:33,100 –> 00:42:36,780 give me a heart of flesh and let me believe your promise 819 00:42:38,379 –> 00:42:41,679 so that I may move forward in fruitfulness of life today. 820 00:42:44,459 –> 00:42:47,020 Hear our prayers individually and together 821 00:42:47,020 –> 00:42:48,679 as we offer them in Jesus’s name. 822 00:42:48,679 –> 00:42:51,300 And God’s people said, amen.