The Parable Of The Sower
Matt:13:1-9
C:\JAMMc2009\ParableSowerMatt.SER.wpd January 24, 2010
1 On the same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the sea.
2 And great multitudes were gathered together to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.
3 Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying: "Behold, a sower went out to sow.
4 And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them.
5 Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth.
6 But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away.
7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them.
8 But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.
9 He who has ears to hear, let him hear!" NKJV
Introduction
Our January Bible Study for the winter of 2010 is the parables of Jesus. I am going to begin a series on the parables today.
I am starting with the parable of the sower.
1. The Sower. 13:3 And 13:37
3 Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying: "Behold, a sower went out to sow.
A. The Sower Is Jesus.
37 He answered and said to them: “He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man.
B. The Sowers Are the Children of Jesus. Mt. 28:19-20
19 Go therefore* and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen.* NKJV
1. All Of His Children Are Told To Share.
"Behold, a sower went out to sow.
a. Sower Needs A Personal Concern. Psa. 126:6
6 He who continually goes forth weeping, Bearing seed
for sowing, Shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, Bringing
his sheaves with him. NKJV
Illustration
Farmer out sowing seed stopped and took his boy to the revival meeting. He said: “ Son we have other seed to sow tonight.” Boy got saved.
b. Sower Needs A Partnership Concern. 1 Cor. 3:6
5 Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one? 6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. NKJV
c. Sower Needs Patience. James 5:7
7 Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain.
d. Sower Needs To Be Positive. Isa 55:11
11 So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it. NKJV
Illustration 945. Word Not in Vain
A robber once stopped John Wesley and demanded his money or his life. Wesley, after giving him the money, said, "Let me speak one word to you; the time may come when you will regret the course of life in which you are now engaged. Remember this, 'The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all sin.' " No more was said, and they parted. Many years after, as Wesley was going out of a church in which he had been preaching, a stranger introduced himself, and asked Wesley if he remembered being waylaid at such a time. He said he recollected it. "I was that man," said the stranger, "and that single verse you quoted on that occasion was the means of a total change in my life and habits. I have long since been in the practice of attending the house of God and of giving attention to His Word, and trust that I am a Christian." (from A Treasury of Bible Illustrations.)
Application
The Sower went forth
2. The Seed. 13:4a
4 And as he sowed, some seed
A. The Seed Is The Gospel Of The Kingdom.
Mt. 4:23 And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues,
preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of
disease among the people.
Acts 28:30–31 (NKJV) 30 Then Paul dwelt two
whole years in his own rented
house, and received all who came to him, 31
preaching the kingdom of God and teaching the
things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ with
all confidence, no
one
forbidding him.
1. The Seed Has . . Power. Rom 1:16
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ,* for it is the
power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew
first and also for the Greek. NKJV
1 Thess 1:5 5 For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but
also in power, and in the Holy Spirit and in much assurance, as you
know what kind of men we were among you for your sake. NKJV
2. The Seed Must Be . . Planted.
Gen 2:8 The Lord God planted a garden
Gen 9:20 And Noah began to be a farmer, and he planted
Gen 21:33 Then Abraham planted
1 Cor 3:6 6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. NKJV
Illustration
Have you heard the stories of seeds over a thousand years old being planted and producing the fruit of the seed.
Illustration
A Few Years Ago During the time of a S B C Convention in Atlanta I had to ride a subway to get to and from my motel. At the subway station there was a man passing out tracks. He was there every time I came through the station. I asked him how many people actually let him help them work through the tract. He quickly said I have seen 153 people pray to receive Christ so far this year. All he was doing was sharing tracts. He had a lot of confidence in the message.
Psa. 126:6 He who continually goes forth weeping, Bearing seed for sowing, Shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, Bringing his sheaves with him. NKJV
Application
Bearing Precious Seed
3. The Soils. 13:4-8
4 And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them.
5 Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth.
6 But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away.
7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them.
8 But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.
A. The Wayside Soil. 13:4 & 19
4 And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them.
1. Matthew 13:19 and Luke 8:12 (NKJV)
19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand
it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This
is he who received seed by the wayside.
Luke 8:12 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.
B. The Stoney Soil. 13:5
5 Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much
earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no
depth of earth. NKJV
1. 2 Cor. 4:3–4 (NKJV)
3 But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those
who are perishing, 4 whose minds the god of this age has
blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of
the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine
on them.
C. The Thorny Soil. 13:7 and 13:22
7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and
choked them.
13:22 Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and
the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he
becomes unfruitful.
Illustration
While I was working on my college degree I pastored an open country church in Carlinville Ill. One on the prospects for our church was a man named Ed Killiam he and his brother owned several trucks and did all kinds of hauling for the farming community. He had children attending our church and I visited him every so often. One Sunday during a revival his son Bobby and several others came forward at invitation time we did not let people out until 12:30 PM and Ed was fit to be tied. I visited him during the week and he flat out was not interested in talking to me so he said, preacher “I don’t know if you can take straight talk or not, but I am going to talk straight to you, and he told me what he though of the church and his time and several other things. Then he said what do you think of that, and I said I am glad you talked straight to me. Now let me ask you one question, “can you take it as well as dish it out, will you let me talk straight to you.” He was set back a little but said. “ yes.” I told him he was standing in the way of his children and if he didn’t change he was going to take his children to hell with him.” He told me I am not coming to your church preacher, I have to work on Sunday.
A few months later he was in the hospital for some kind of stomach surgery. I made sure I visited him several times but especially on Sunday. I asked him if he were working on that particular Sunday.
He kind of looked shocked and said no preacher I have had surgery.
I told him I knew he could take straight talk so I told him he might have many more things happen to him because he was keeping himself and family out of church. He did not like that at all.
That man did come to church on a rare occasion but never made a decision for Christ. I came back to that church for a revival about 30 years later, and one of the deacons asked me if I remembered him and his son and would I make a visit with him to see Bobby. We did and Bobby had lost his wife and family. He lived in a broken down apartment. I tried to talk to him, he sat with his head down. I asked him if he would let me talk to him about Jesus. He said, “not now preacher, not now.
Thorny Soil
D. The Good Soil. 13:8 and 13:23
8 But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some a
hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9 He who has ears to hear, let
him hear!" NKJV
13:23 But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and
understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty,
some thirty.”
Illustration Warren Wiersbe tells us in his book on the parables that the witness of Jesus to the woman at the well goes through each of these soils.
Turn to John the Fourth Chapter.
Wayside Soil John 4:7-9
Thorny Soil John 4:10-18
Stoney Soil
Good Soil John 4:19-26, 28
Our responsibility is to sow the seed and leave the results to Him.
What Ever Kind Of Soil You Are You Can Become GOOD Soil
I gleaned some help from these sermon sites. And a book by Warren Wiersbe:
Meet Yourself In The Parables.
http://www.gabc.org/assets/1002/s123001.pdf
http://www.holwick.com/new-testament/17/820.html