Mark 4:1 9 The Parable of the Sower We all know the power of a word A word of encouragement can lift our spirits and give us renewed hope; a word of

Transcription

1 Mark 4:1 9 The Parable of the Sower We all know the power of a word A word of encouragement can lift our spirits and give us renewed hope; a word of criticism can cut us down and make us weep A word of explanation can save a world of trouble; as can a word of apology. A word can illuminate; and a word can also deceive A word is a very small thing just a sound and yet Words have power What then must we say of the word of God It too my seem a very small thing But great things come from small things And that s part of what the parable of the sower is saying` The seeds each one so insignificant seeming carry within them a great power a power that allows them to be converted into 30, 60 and a 100 fold grains in the ear of wheat. And the word of God is regarded by so many as out of date, or unimportant, or uninteresting (Though have they even read it?) The word of God is full of latent power, ready to bear fruit in our lives Just think of those Christians you have most respected think of how they have shone a light into the world around them That was not their own light it was the light of Christ Jesus himself, God s first and last Word to us, Jesus in whom God communicates himself to us The words of Jesus And the works of Jesus

2 - handed on to us through the Apostles words in Scripture, it is this word of God in the power of God s spirit that lit up their lives and madea harvest of righteousness and love. And for us Just as a great harvest comes from a bag of seed, So the word of God planted in our lives creates a new life, It creates love and service, dedication and purity. Living in the city as we are do we are divorced from the yearly wonder of the harvest. Where we lived in Yorkshire there was a wonderful network of footpaths through the country district beyond the Huddersfield border ancient right of ways dating back hundreds of years. As long as the ways are walked once every ten year they remain rights of way. Quite near us was a field of barley, enclosed in dry stone walls with two narrow stiles. When the field was first planted you walked in straight line, diagonally across the field, between the stiles and wore a path As the year progressed the barley grew with the path through it Until it was waist high we ve bred grain short in modern times to minimise wind damage, old style harvests were much taller A field of barley is a wonderful, beautiful thing. In New Zealand you can t walk through it unless you re a friend of the famer, but the paths of England can take you deep among the corn, where you can see the abundance of the ripe seed But of course nothing grows on the paths. Jesus Some of the seed fell upon the path and the birds came and ate it up The seed is the word of God

3 The sower went forth to sow - the seed of the word of the gospel But the seed must fall into soil to reproduce the soil is the human heart Some seed fell on the path and birds ate it up It was carried away before it could even enter the soil Words can be said, but we have to give them a hearing And where the human heart is hardened against the word it gains no entry Sometimes the soil seems to gain a lodging But in old Israel much of the land was dry, hilly and rocky Good land for olive trees; not so good for wheat And where the soil was rocky and shallow, it heated quickly and the seed started to spring up very soon But it had no proper root And in the hot sun the plant quickly withers away The shallow heart is quick to feel but feelings need depth, depth that comes from thought, from commitment, determination the gospel can move the emotional person to tears or joy but there needs to be depth in the feelings for when a harsh feeling comes the shallow heart becomes fearful; to be true to the word of God we must be brave, we must make sacrifices as Jesus had to make them but if the heart is too shallow

4 then fear causes faith to wither up the cost of truth, integrity, self-discipline, feels too great and faith is no longer found Sometimes the soil in which the seed falls is full of weeds and thorns And so what space the seed finds at its sowing is soon filled up and the seed is choked out before it can yield anything The seed needs soil; good soil; light, the light of God s truth, the warmth of God s presence, the water of life, the richness of the earth But weeds and thorns choke it out The weeds that choke the human heart are - The desire for money; wishing for good fortune; Concern for material display The selfish wish to have a good time all the time The need to be an important successful person, The distractions by which we try to avid facing harsh realities These weeds choke out the word of life; They cut off God s word from our hearts. And though the seed is good seed the soil does not receive it properly

5 These things money, fun, achievement, success, interests these are not evil things they are not sins and yet if we let them crowd God out of our life they will certainly choke the life of God in us But where the seed falls into good soil Where we hear and accept God s word for what it is When we hold it fast in an honest and good heart Then the soil brings a beautiful rich harvest A harvest of love and truth, kindness and compassion, courage and faith service and fortitude. All that Jesus is The seed is the word. It is the word Jesus brings you, saying God s kingdom is here in Jesus Turn your mind to him and trust him The seed is the word of the good news and the good news is All you with hard hearts All with shallow hearts All with weed infested hearts Hear again the word

6 Jesus, the Son of God, has died on the cross to forgive you he is risen from death to bring you new life A new heart and a new way. Do not fear you have a shallow heart he makes it new, gives it depth. He is able to keep you from falling and to present you without fault before our God and Father. Do not let good thing distract you from the greatest thing our Lord Jesus Christ Today is Bible Sunday the seed it the word Let us go to our bibles every day Especially to the words of Jesus Let God sow his good word in our hearts And let the seed of his word find honest and good soil in our hearts For the sower still walks in the field of the world He sows anew each day And he is able to keep you from falling and to present you without fault before our God and Father amen