“A SOWER WENT OUT”

Preached by Rev. Ed Brouwer at The Gathering Place, Osoyoos

Pulpit Series Volume 20 Issue 27 November 7, 2010

Matthew 13:1-8, Mark 4, Luke 8 “Jesus said, Behold, a Sower went out to sow; And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and ate them up: Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth. And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprang up and choked them: and it yielded no fruit. But other fell into good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased; some 30, 60, and 100 times.”


No need to speculate the meaning because Jesus explains it.

Matthew 13:18-25, Mark 4, Luke 8

1. The seed is the Word of God, so the sower sows the Word.

2. The seed sown by way side, Satan comes immediately and takes away the Word that was sown in their hearts.

3. Those sown on stony ground; when they’ve heard the Word, immediately receive it with gladness, but when affliction or persecution arises for the Word’s sake immediately they are offended. They have no root, no depth, no sand.

4. Those sown among thorns are such as hear the Word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the Word and it becomes unfruitful, choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, bringing no fruit to perfection.

5. But he that received seed into the good ground are they who hear the Word and receive it, having heard the Word, they keep it bringing forth fruit with patience.

Here are some key thoughts - I hope to provoke you to much thinking this morning!

Fruit bearing is the difference in the three ground types.
The heart of a person is not known until fruit is born.

It was the same seed in every case.

The fault is not in the seed, rather the differences in fruit production is in the ground.

All three ground types accepted the good Word (the seed).

The seed fell into the ground...and it all began to grow!

Many who receive the Lord become regular attendees at church and are honest and moral in their conduct,
but Christ is not All and All to them, He is secondary.

Jesus doesn’t blame the sower for scattering his seed in the wrong places.

Four types of thorns are described:
The care of this world
The deceitfulness of riches
The pleasures of this life
The lust of other things

1. The care of this world

The poor say, “What shall we eat, or drink? What shall we wear?” The rich say, “How can we keep what we got? How do I get more?” If you let care grow, it will choke your spirit. You can’t care for God and the things of this world too.

2. The deceitfulness of riches  It’s not riches themselves, but the deceitfulness of riches.
Your line of conduct ought never to be ruled by gain or loss.

Do right even if heaven falls, do no wrong even if a kingdom of wealth is offered you!


3. The pleasures of this life

This is the age of excessive amusement. Many have had holy thoughts and resolutions murdered by a continual pursuit for pleasure.

4. The lusts of other things

All things except the things that glorify God are “other things”.
The result: The seed grew, but brought no fruit to perfection. The proof is in the fruit!

I Samuel 16:7 “Man looks on the outward, God looks at the heart.”

Far too many are growing weak in this late hour. Prayer life is next to extinct, Bible reading and family prayer are neglected. And thorns are choking out the very life breath of the Christian.

Thorns are natural to the soil. That is why this preacher begs you be on guard.
Thorns were already established in the soil. The roots of sin run through and through our nature.
Watch and pray lest temptation choke that which is good in you!

Many professing Christians are like the thorny ground, because the process of dealing with sin has been for the most part omitted. Thorns need to be pulled out by the roots and burned. We know little of old fashioned “conviction of sin”, which caused what was known as an anguishing of the soul.

You can say you’re a sinner without feeling what it means!

Thorns are everywhere, but do we Christians have to grow more of them? Really?

Why do we so often cultivate thorns?

In the stony ground, we see a group of people who received the Word immediately. They recognized God's truth! They received it with gladness. Do not mistake happiness as a sign of conversion! These people never counted the cost!

They didn’t figure in the temptations and persecutions that would come their way!

Right arms must be cut off! Right eyes must be plucked out! There will be trials to endure and crosses to bear (daily). Matthew 5:30, 18:8, Mark 9:43, 45

These people made rapid progress...but in due time came the trial. No one gets to heaven without being tried! Not one fragment of God’s gold hasn’t first passed through the fire!

Untested faith is not faith!
Untested grace is not grace!
The testing came through the Word!

These folk were immediately offended.
Just as fast as they fell in love with the gospel they fell out of love with it!

Their radical defect lay in an unbroken heart! This ground was bedrock, a hard layer of rock with a thin layer of soil over it!

The seed sprang up immediately.

These people were so fast at accepting the seed that they were:
healed before they recognized they were wounded
clothed before they saw the shame of their nakedness
filled before they were empty
made alive before they were dead

These people were unbroken in heart and that my friend, is a fatal defect!

They lacked depth, everything was on the surface, superficial! No secret prayer, no fear of God, no intimacy with Jesus.

Think about this: If your vessel is near ready to go down in calm waters, what will become of you when a storm arises?

No sooner does the seed fall than the fowls devour it. The devil is punctual, “then came the devil”. The devil is powerful “and takes away the Word out of the heart”.

Satan could care less if a crow or a white dove steals the seed - just as long as I’s stolen. The word has been spoiled by demons and carnal believers alike.

I noticed something - I wonder if you did?

The influence (power) the devil has seems to be regulated by the condition of man’s heart or soul. It is easy for birds to pick up seed that lays exposed on a pathway. For those who may have recognized some weeds or stones in your soil, do you desire a change? Break up the fallow ground.

Zechariah 13:8-9 “It shall come to pass, that in all the land, says the LORD, two parts shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein. And I will bring the third part through the fire and will refine them as silver is refined and try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God.”