Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

Did you hear about the rose that grew from a crack in the concrete?

Provin nature's laws wrong it learned how to walk without havin feet

Funny it seems but, by keepin its dreams

It, learned to breathe FRESH air

Long live the rose that grew from concrete

When no one else even cared

No one else even cared..

The rose that grew from concrete

Your first effort at evangelism or discipleship is your family.

Contributing to the growth of your children, brothers and sisters, parents and grandparents is paramount.

Planting seeds of faith with those closest to us can be rewarding but also the hardest thing that we might face as it pertains to spreading the gospel.

Many members of our family come from various religious backgrounds and multiple styles of upbringing.

Nonetheless we have to be outspoken as it pertains to spreading the gospel with our families.

Sometimes you would be surprised how a simple seed here and there could turn into a forest of disciples that will be generationally sustaining for your family.

We ask for prayers for our family we have conversations about approaching them about beliefs but how many seeds are we planting through our words or our actions.

We have to ask ourselves the question do we want our family to spend eternity in the same place we are trying to go? Paul writes in So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth.

Although God causes growth, we still have to plant seeds and cultivate each other through effective watering and placing the plant in a place of light not inhibited by shade or poor spiritual climate.

Some Seed is Never Planted

Some seed that you desire to plant amongst your family will not be able to be planted.

Understand the first task, the sower went out to sow his seed.

Staying in your bubble of life is not going to win souls.

It is going to take some footwork.

Do not become discouraged about the seed that you want to plant that falls out and is trampled and eaten up.

Some fell beside the road - Even seeds you do not plant has value.

If nothing else this verse (5) tells us that we have more than enough seed to get the job done.

The sower had so much seed that even though he went out for a designated purpose he still lost some seed.

Do not be discouraged by seed destroyers.

Some people see the seed you are carrying and have no desire but to ensure that it does not make the destination of soil as it was intended to.

Birds - we have people that fly above us to get a birds eye view to see what we are dropping so they can destroy the resources we have.

Do not be discouraged.

Some of the seeds of life that you are dropping are food to those who cannot plant for themselves.

Never underestimate what you life be for those who are searching for some spiritual sustenance.

Some folks want to trample over the seeds you are trying to plant.

Do not allow the sabotage of others to prohibit you from planting seeds like God asked us to.

Planning Before Planting

Often times evangelism is not a seed issue, it’s a soil issue.

When dealing with our family, children or even friends the seed is not going to take if the soil is spoiled or hardened.

Sometimes there is some watering that needs to take place before we can plant seeds.

We have to show people the love of God before we can share the word of God.

Verse 11 “Now the parable is this; the seed is the word of God”.

Verse 12 tells us that those beside the road are those who have heard.

Our kids see us going to church, they see us reading our bibles but feeding ourselves does not ensure they will be fed too.

We have to intentionally pour into our children.

They’ve heard, understand the devil knows what you are hearing.

His goal is to take the word from your mind before it can take root.

We have to cultivate the soil within our family to ensure that the devil will not uproot what has been planted.

The fig tree was planted, but there was no fruit.

We plant things in the lives of our families and the fruit does not reflect what we have planted, what do we do?

Sometimes we have to start over, sometimes we have to uproot our family, uproot our children and plant them in places that they will grow.

Sometimes we do not need to uproot, sometimes we need to inspect the soil, and fertilize it properly to ensure growth.

We also have to be patient, give things time to grow.

Impatience with growth will cause us to prematurely uproot what we have planted and end up planting seeds in places that were worse than the first place.

Every tree that is not bearing fruit is not a seed problem, sometimes it’s a fertilizer problem.

Fertilizers are essentially supplements to ensure nutrients.

It’s just like vitamins, it’s not that our body does not produce the vitamin, it’s that we are retaining enough to grow.

Sometimes the soil has spiritual deficiencies.

Therefore it takes a little extra care to ensure growth.

Verse 8 and he answered and said to him, let it alone, sir, for this year too, until I dig around it and put in fertilizer.

Rocky Soil, Rigid Environments

Historically there was a time that the most powerful kingdoms were those that were close to water.

Nonetheless with the right work ethic and tools we can be a part of big harvest in desolate areas.

Verse 6 - Other seed fell on rocky soil, and as soon as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture.

There was enough nutrients to grow up, but as soon as it grew up it withered.

This happens when we think because it grew up somewhere that is enough to sustain it.

How many of us grew up in the church but withered away?

The environment we grow up in dictates the type of care we need in effort to stay alive despite our surroundings.

Tupac pens a poem “a rose that grew from the concrete”

You try to plant somethin in the conrete, y'knowhatImean?

If it GROW, and the and the rose petal got all kind of

Scratches and marks, you not gon' say, "Damn, look at

All the scratches and marks on the rose that grew from concrete"

You gon' be like, "Damn!

A rose grew from the concrete?!"

Same thing with me, y'knahmean?

I grew out of all of this

Instead of sayin, "Damn, he did this, he did this,"

Just be like, "DAMN!

He grew out of that?

He came out of that?"

That's what they should say, y'knowhatImean?

All the trouble to survive and make good out of the dirty, nasty

Y'knowhahatImean unbelievable lifestyle they gave me

I'm just tryin to make somethin..

Some of us grew up in Jesus despite scratches and tight spaces.

Some of us grew up in Jesus despite abuse, violence, poor parenting.

This should not be a reason to be oblivious of empathy but more of a reason to cultivate those who have been planted in environments that were not supposed to house plants in the first place.

Some seed will fall amongst thorns.

Some seeds, some plants are surrounded by thorns.

People that quench your spirit and rob you of every piece of joy and happiness in Jesus that you may have.

Other seed fell among the thorns; and the thorns grew up with it and choked it out.

Life will try to choke the Jesus out of you.

People will try to sabotage every ounce of Jesus you have in you.

Just because people grow up with you doesn’t mean they are producing the same fruit.

Good Soil

Some seed will fall into the good soil, it will grow and produce a crop a hundred times as great.

Some soil is just good and ripe for growth.

We have to thank God for this soil and plant as much seed as we possibly can.

Good soil is mature, but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ,

Good soil is not just good soil by happenstance, it is good soil because it is by the still waters, it is good soil because it has been cultivated by God and ready to accept the seeds of Holiness.