The King's Church in Ilford
The following is the text of the talk given on 6th December 2009 by Robin Hawkins
"The Sower"
- Read Matthew 13:1-23
The more I read of Matthew's gospel, the more baffled I am by many of the statements I read. Matt 13 is no exception. At first glance Jesus seems to be saying that he's deliberately excluding some because he doesn't want them to be saved. What ever we think about the fact that only some will be saved, 2Pet 3:9 assures us that God doesn't want anyone to be lost. We need to know that.
Supposing I had got up, told you this story, and then sat down again. What would your reactions have been?
- a) Oh good! Short sermon today. Let's go and get a coffee.
- b) That's weird! Whoever heard of a sermon that made no mention of Jesus, God, sin, and had no explanation?
- c) What was he on about? I didn't understand it, but I know Robin. He wouldn't say something like that without a very good reason. I need to think about it.
This third reaction's important because it focuses on the person not the statement. Jesus wants us to put our trust in him, first and foremost, and then his words. If we do it the other way round, we'll end up trusting only the teachings that we understand, and we'll reject those we don't. He'll have our heads - even then only to the extent that we understand him, but he won't have our hearts - and Jesus wants our hearts. "If you love me, you will obey my commandments." If we believe in Jesus with all our hearts, then our reaction to what he says will be: "I don't understand that, but he said it so it must be important."
So we'll go away and we'll think about, meditate on it, and gradually we'll get what he means - and to what we have more will be added! But if, on the other hand we just think: "I don't understand that. What about this? What about that? It can't be right." If we then we reject the truth that we have, and even what we have will be taken away! Are you starting to understand what Jesus meant here?
I don't think Jesus wanted them to reject his teaching. But he knew their hearts were so hard and unbelieving that if he gave them the unvarnished truth, they wouldn't be able to take it, and they would reject it out of hand. Some suggest Jesus is being merciful here. Knowing they would reject the truth anyway, He disguises it so that on Judgement Day, they will not be punished so harshly. Because if we know the Truth and reject it, we'll get a harder time than those who didn't know the truth.
Even of his own disciples, he says in John 16:12: "I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. " So he spoke to them in stories which dressed up the truth, and presented it in a more acceptable fashion. Do you remember the "teaser" adverts we used to get which didn't say what product they were promoting? When you saw one, it made us ask: What's that all about? Likewise, we expect a preacher to have a point to make! When he just tells stories, we start to think: What was that all about?
But their hearts were hard and callused, and full of unbelief. Jesus didn't match their expectations of the Messiah, so they rejected him and his stories, and in doing so lost even the little light they had. They became even more blind and deaf to the things of God. So they were "ever seeing", but never saw that what they were seeing was the truth. There's a phrase we hear people using: "I'm hearing you." What it means is: I understand what you're saying - implying what we all know - that you can listen to someone and not understand them. That's what v.14 means: "ever hearing, but not understanding".
But not all of them. His disciples didn't understand the story, but they believed in him, so they came and asked what he meant by the story - they knew he meant something! So Jesus explains how the seed is the Word of God. Now we usually apply this parable in a context of evangelism where it describes the different
responses of people to the gospel. That may be quite reasonable, but it applies equally to any situation where God's Word has been spoken.
I love this: When God speaks a word into our lives, he intends it to bear fruit. God's Word is creative. Most of us love making things. We reflect God's creative heart. For some it's cards, for others it's a delicious meal. I've always loved making things from wood. Imagine though, that you could create something by speaking. I'm not talking about making a noise! But I think we can create by speaking. Teachers create scholars by speaking. Our words of encouragement build each other up, and help us believe we can do things we didn't think we could do. Prophetic words change hearts and situations. Words of faith speak things into being. I'm not talking about a "Name-It-and-Claim-It" gospel. Faith is a gift of God, so if God gives you faith for something, you're simply speaking out what He's wanting to do.
The way that He speaks to us is secondary. It may be a verse of Scripture, it may be a prophetic word given in a meeting that resonates in our heart, or one that is given to us personally. It may be a dream or a vision. It may be a long word - it's more likely to be brief, perhaps just a couple of words.
A young woman told her best friend who was a Christian, that she was going to go and live with her boyfriend. Her friend just burst out with the words: "You couldn't." It was the word of God to that young woman. She came under such conviction, that she changed her mind.
The word may come and we may not recognise it for what it is. Our hearts can be so hard that it doesn't even get a chance to take root. So the birds eat it up and devil robs us of the fruit that God intended for our lives. That ever happened to you? Have you ever found that God has to say something three or four times before we finally listen and take note.
Perhaps we recognise the Word and receive it joyfully. Perhaps it's a Word to take a stand for moral issues in our land. Perhaps it's a challenge not to go along with the crowd at school or at work. These days there is so much pressure to silence all mention of God in the workplace, that even saying, "God bless" to someone can bring your job under threat! In whatever way we took a stand for Jesus.... the brickbats start flying, your job's under threat, and you find you're losing friends. You hadn't reckoned on this, so you tone it down a bit, not much, just enough to take the pressure off. And suddenly you've lost your cutting edge, and the fruit that God had intended to produce from your life is lost.
The weeds can get to us in just the same way. They're probably our biggest problem. "the worries of this life, and the deceitfulness of wealth. " God might give us a Word about meeting together and making disciples. "Sony I can't make it to the meeting this week. I've got two jobs at the moment, and we're saving for a holiday, or for a new car, or a bigger house. The fact is that a lot of those worries of life are all too real, and seem inevitable.
If we respond to the pressures of life by worrying about them, instead of trusting God in them, then the life of God is in danger of being choked out of us. Worry is taking on board responsibility God never intended us to have. Worry is saying to God: "I don't trust you. I don't believe you love me enough to stay in control of what's happening to me. Worry is sin! That's good news! The blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin, so I can be free of it.
When God speaks a word into our heart, he is looking for a heart that is soft and open to hearing him; a heart that is obedient and submissive. Philip got a word from God that seemed crazy. Leave this revival in Samaria, and go out into the desert. God didn't tell him why. He could have argued: "Lord, nobody's in the desert. I'm needed here, where it's all happening." But he didn't. He just went. His heart was soft and open to God. He had learnt to hear his voice. He believed in Jesus first and foremost, so he was obedient to his Word. He didn't understand, but he trusted God more than he trusted his own understanding. Then this Ethiopian eunuch overtook him in his chariot, and the rest as they say, is history. Christianity spread to Africa. Amazing fruit from this one seed sown in Philip's heart, far more, probably, than was produced in Samaria.
The Sower teaches us of the importance of having a soft heart that's open to God, a sensitive heart able to hear His voice, and a submissive heart that is willing to obey. With these we will fulfil God's intention for us to bear much fruit. He warns us of those things which will prevent us being fruitful. At the root of them is having a hard heart. So let's pray for a soft heart, one that's open to Jesus and willing to trust Him, and act on what He says. That's the way to be fruitful.
