The Sower
What Jesus Said • Sermon • Submitted
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· 3 viewsDon’t tell Jesus you can’t, Just go forth and plant.
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Introduction - The Sower
Introduction - The Sower
Johannes Gutenberg was celebrated on google last Wednesday (4/14). He invented the printing press. In about 1450, he had a fully operational movable type printing press.
Gutenberg was a metalworker (a goldsmith) by trade. He took a retrofitted winepress and invented a way to mold a type of metal alloy.
The metal melted at a relatively low temp for faster and more economical casting. It was similar to pewter.
He also developed a new type of oil based ink that worked better.
Before Gutenberg, there were presses, but not one with metal movable types and none in Europe. The blocks could be arranged and rearranged.
This was a revolution in technology.
He was able to print up to 3600 pages per day.
Before that, it took about a year for someone to copy a single book.
What was one of the first things he printed? The Bible
In 1455, he competed his 42-line Bible called the Gutenberg Bible. About 180 copies were printed.
The Sower
After printing the Bible, he was sued by a business partner and lost everything.
In 1465, Archbishop Adolph von Nassau (who had sacked the city a few years earlier in 1462) gave him the title of “Hofmann” or gentleman of the court and a large annual stipend. He also gave him about 2000 liters of wine.
He died about 3 years later. I’m not sure if that was related.
But here’s what you don’t know:
Gutenberg’s press led the way for what we now call the Reformation as well as feeding the Renaissance.
He contributions was a major catalyst for the scientific revolution.
As far as the Reformation is concerned, Pamphlets were printed out which helped spread the word.
Many technological developments helped pave the way for Christianity.
The technology of Roman roads literally paved the way for the gospel.
The development of the public hospitals at the end of the 4th century helped. Christians started these.
What these development did was give us new ground where the gospel could be planted.
Today, we will talk about planting. We are going to talk about The Sower.
4 And when a great multitude had gathered, and they had come to Him from every city, He spoke by a parable:
5 “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it.
6 Some fell on rock; and as soon as it sprang up, it withered away because it lacked moisture.
7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it.
8 But others fell on good ground, sprang up, and yielded a crop a hundredfold.” When He had said these things He cried, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”
9 Then His disciples asked Him, saying, “What does this parable mean?”
10 And He said, “To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is given in parables, that ‘Seeing they may not see, And hearing they may not understand.’
11 “Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.
12 Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.
13 But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away.
14 Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity.
15 But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience.
The Four Grounds
The Four Grounds
Let’s start off by talking about the Sower and what that means.
Just so we don’t have any misunderstandings, a sower is someone who plants seeds. They are a farmer.
We see a farmer as someone riding on their John Deere, but back then it was done by hand.
For smaller farms, it’s still done by hand.
Now I want you to envision these grounds Jesus is talking about here:
Wayside
Rocky
Thorny
Good
The wayside ground hasn’t been properly tilled, so the seed never gets into the ground. It’s just laying on top. Birds see it and eat it, people and animals trample on it, or never gets into the ground so that roots can spring up.
The rocky ground doesn’t have room for the roots. The roots of the plant is how the plant get moisture and minerals.
The thorny ground has to much competition. The weeds and thorns grow up taller and they steal the needed nutrients.
And then there’s the good ground. It produces, and the fruit from that produces, and keeps producing.
There are places on this earth where the soil is good and you put seed in it and it grows.
Here in Cherokee county, it’s pretty rocky. You don’t see many big commercial farms.
However, the trees that grow here do very well. So using the right seed is important. There are several commercial nurseries here. There’s one not far away.
So what’s Jesus trying to say? He’s about to tell us. If you don’t get it, just remember, the disciples didn’t get it either.
The Four Peoples
The Four Peoples
The disciples then just ask Jesus what this means. In Mark, it tells us that they ask when they are alone with him.
I don’t blame them. They are the chosen ones and people are probably starting to look up to them. So they wait until no one is around them and then they ask what this means.
Jesus chides them a bit. He says that He is teaching in parables so that the meaning is somewhat obscured. God is revealing things a little at a time.
13 And He said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables?
The Four Peoples
Jesus then tells them the meaning. The seed is the Word of God. It’s the Gospel.
The different grounds are different people.
Those by the wayside hear the word and before the seed can germinate, the devil comes and takes the word out of their hearts. They never believe, they never get saved. I think I was one of those people.
The ones on the rock are the ones that hear and rejoice but because they have no root, they believe for a while and then they fall away.
Many people are like this. Some of them still go to church but their hearts are far from God.
Listen, we are in Cherokee county. It is possible to get things to grow, even if it can be difficult.
Alfindra Primaldhi
The Four Peoples
Then there’s those that fall among thorns. They hear the word, they hear and then the things of the world choke out the truth of the gospel. That’s the world we live in today.
Even here in Cherokee county, what good ground we have easily gets choked out by weeds. We see these patches where nothing can grow but weeds.
And last, there is the good ground. It’s people that hear the word and they start growing. They keep the word in their heart and they grow and continue on in the Church.
Who are you? What kind of ground are you? What kind of ground did you start on?
So what can we get out of this parable? What is the bottom line that Jesus is saying?
Go Forth and Plant
Go Forth and Plant
It really doesn’t matter what ground we have, we are to go forth and plant.
14 How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?
15 And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!
Go Forth and Plant
What we need to do is go forth and tell
We need to not worry about the ground. It doesn’t matter what it looks like. Go forth and spread the seed.
I told you before that I was planted on the wayside.
Those by the wayside, can be cleaned up and will sometimes grow despite the bad location. I heard the word, but the devil took it away. Then 20 years later, life sprung up in me. Don’t give up.
Rocky ground can be cultivated. Soil can be added. Ground can be disked and plowed around the plant.
Those that fall among the thorns. can be cleaned up and the it will grow despite the bad conditions. I think many people, fit in this condition. They let the things of the world block out any growth.
Let’s not forget the good ground. Let’s look for the good ground. I looked at a chart that showed when most people become Christians. It was on the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE)’s website.
The median age was 11.
That’s the good ground. But look where I was - I’m part of the 2%
Where are you?
Go Forth and Plant
It doesn’t tell us here to look where we are planted. We are to go plant.
However, wisdom dictates us to target good ground. A farmer will do that.
Our ground should be that 4-29 area, because 97% of the people who are saved are saved in those age groups.
But remember that Jesus said he went out to save the 1 and left the 99.
But also remember that Jesus told us in
6 “Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces.
That’s right after he told us to “Judge not” in Matthew 7:1
But he tells us to judge righteously.
So we are to use judgement when we
Go Forth and Plant
I want to bring this all full circle
Let’s talk about the new ground. I told you that Gutenberg’s printing press helped start the Reformation. Almost every big changing technological advancement changed the way the message was spread.
It’s new ground.
We are in the midst of one of those moments.
I need you to understand what I’m about to say.
Some would say that TV, cassette tapes, CDs, that all of those changed the way we planted.
But nothing compares to what is happening now.
We are on the edge of something great.
The Information age started years ago, but things shifted during the pandemic. Online sales, online delivery, online services, went through the roof.
I just saw an article about Best Buy. They had the best quarter they have ever had, but they are closing stores and laying off workers.
However, they are hiring IT people - thousands.
Here’s what I’m trying to get to:
There are thousands of people in our community that are hurting right now. Maybe they lost their job. Maybe they lost their grandpa. Maybe they miss their friends.
Whatever it is, we have something great to offer them.
That’s the word. The seed that Jesus was talking about.
We can go forth and Plant
We can go and tell
No more excuses
Don’t tell Jesus you can’t, Just go forth and plant.
Are you ready to go?