Rev. David Holwick P First Baptist Church Ledgewood, New Jersey April 26, 1992 Matthew 13:10-23 "SEEDS AWAY!" I. The Purpose of Preaching in Parables. A. Earthly story with a heavenly meaning. 1) Make abstract ideas interesting and easier to grasp. a) As a captive audience, you have to listen to me. 1> Even if I preach for an hour on the cooking utensils in the tabernacle. 2> Jesus had to be more interesting. b) Make you think for yourself, dig deeper. 2) It can also make these ideas harder to understand, if you are an outsider. a) The parables contain a "hardening" principle. B. The importance of how we listen. 13:10-18 1) We must make an effort to hear God. 2) We must be sensitive to spiritual truth. a) Deaf ears and blind eyes come from callous hearts. 13:15 3) We listen to what we value. Charles Swindoll gives this story: An Indian was walking in downtown New York City alongside a friend who was a resident of the city. Right in the center of Manhattan, the Indian seized his friend's arm and whispered, "Wait! I hear a cricket." His friend said, "Come on! A cricket? Man, this is downtown New York." He persisted, "No, seriously, I really do." "It's impossible!" was the response. "You can't hear a cricket! Taxis going by. Horns honkin'. People screamin' at each other. Brakes screeching. Both sides of the street filled with people. Cash registers clanging away. Subways roaring beneath us. You can't possibly hear a cricket!" The Indian insisted, "Wait a minute!" He led his friend along, slowly. They stopped, and the Indian walked down to the end of the block, went across the street, looked around, cocked his head to one side, but couldn't find it. He went across another street, and there in a large cement planter where a tree was growing, he dug into the mulch and found the cricket. "See!" he yelled, as he held the insect high above his head. His friend walked across the street, marveling, "How in the world could it be that you heard a cricket in the middle of downtown busy Manhattan?" The Indian said, "Well, my ears are different from yours. It simply depends on what you're listening to. Here, let me show you." And he reached in his pocket and pulled out a handful of change- -a couple of quarters, three or four nickels, and some dimes and pennies. Then he said, "Now watch." He held the coins waist high and dropped them to the sidewalk. Every head within a block turned around and looked in the direction of the Indian. It all depends on what you're listening for. #1552 II. Listening to the Parable of Sower. 13:1-9 A. One of the easier parables. 1) More distant for us because few live on farms. 2) Primitive methods, like my gardening. I scattered lettuce, peas, and radishes in haphazard rows. Some are already coming up. B. Seeds on wayside. 13:4 1) Packed dirt of paths. (About 70% of my garden ends up packed) C. Stony ground. 13:5 1) Not stones but bedrock close to surface. 2) Hotbed effect - quick germination, but then withers. D. Thorns. 13:7 1) Only tops of weeds cut off, leaving roots. 2) They grow back and choke crops. E. Good ground. 13:8 1) Depth, moisture, weed-free. 2) Tenfold yield average for Palestine; 30, 60, 100 fold only dreamed about. III. What does it mean spiritually? 13:13-20 A. The difference is in the soil. 1) Benkendorf's nursery for trumpet vine - conditioning the soil is the key to success. Dig and hole and drop it in - one year of flourish, then zilch. Good preparation - years of pleasure and production. 2) In parable, soil and seed combinations refer to different ways people respond to the gospel. B. Seed on path. 13:19 1) Person who is closed to the gospel. a) Not so much rejection as lack of interest. b) They feel they don't need Christ. 2) "Movers & shakers" often in this category. (Pharisees) C. Stony ground. 13:20 1) Superficially religious. a) Often due to an emotional response to the gospel. b) Rally for high school students - everyone responded. 1> How many lasted? 2) Emotions can be genuine, but often don't go very deep. a) Christians need to be deeply rooted. Col. 2:6-7 1> Habits of spiritual nurture. 2> Relationships with Christians that go beyond the superficial. b) Our faith must be all or nothing. 3) Trouble is the acid test. D. Thorns. 13:22 1) These want the best of both worlds - spirituality and pleasure. a) Two crops are competing for the same soil. 2) Not just evil that crowds Jesus out. a) Good, but second-rate things can have same result. b) Many well-meaning Christians become preoccupied with jobs, finances, and families. 1> Their relationship with God suffers. E. Good soil. 13:23 1) Last, in the position of emphasis. 2) These people do three things: 13:23 a) Hear the word. 1> In one ear, out the other. 2> Listen with mind only. 3> Listening to an urgent message. Your heart stops. b) Accept the gospel. 1> Not just hear it, but accept it. c) Turn it into action. 1> A true Christian must produce fruit. A> No such thing as a stagnant Christian. B> Growing and active, or choked. 2> Varieties of fruit. A> Change in inner character and priorities. B> Influence on others (witnessing). IV. Soil testing. A. Hydrological soil center near Chili, Ohio. Huge containers of soil on delicate balances. How do you measure up on God's scales? B. Discouraging to see multitude of Christians who have withered away. C. For all the seed that ends in failure, the few that are left more than make up for them. The harvest is going to be great. ***************************** "Preaching to the People of Luke's Time Today," (Parable of Sower) by Tom Houston, Christianity Today, May 29, 1981, pp. 22-25.