The Parable of the Sower

Title: The Parable of the Sower

Text: Mark 4

I was having devotions this morning and read the parable of the Sower.  Does it bother you what the Lord says in verses 11-13?  Especially verse 11 where Jesus states, “11 And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables:”, does that seem fair to you?  Why would Jesus do that?  First of all notice verse 1.  Jesus was teaching a great multitude from a boat.  Jesus had walked on water, so why didn’t he do that here?  Why not just walk out on the water, turn around and teach?  For that matter why not just do the transfiguration of Matthew 17 right there in front of the huge crowd?  Moses and Elijah could appear out on the water with Jesus and his glory revealed to the masses?  Why not thousands of angels visible overhead like what the Shepherds saw after Christ’s birth?  I think the reason is that the closer you draw to the Lord, the more you see his power in a way the world never does.  It’s not that the Lord Jesus desires the world to miss who he is.  He says in I Timothy 2:3-4, “in the sight of God our Saviour; 3 For this is good and acceptable  4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.”  I have felt the joy of the Lord like an irresistible flood flowing through me.  It’s not that others couldn’t have this, even believers, it is that they are walking their own path.  They give lip service to the Lord but effectively their life is about this life and what they can get out of it and this makes their life unfruitful...the very point of the parable of the Sower!  The Lord has done miracles for me and worked things out that others will never know about or even if they did would probably just rationalize away.  After all, when God the Father talked from the air to Jesus Christ the crowd reacted oddly, “The people therefore, that stood by, and heard it, said that it thundered: others said, An angel spake to him.” (John 12:29).  Angels from Heaven are going to warn people in the future not to take the Mark of the Beast and they will anyway (Revelation 14:6-11).

Jesus implies that these parables could have been understood by the disciples when he says, “13 And he said unto them, Know ye not this parable? and how then will ye know all parables?”  Mary, Lazarus’ sister, understood Jesus was going to die when the disciples were clueless.  The Centurion understood Christ when he says to him, “8 The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed.  9 For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it.”  Christ is very impressed with the insight and faith of the man.  Didn’t Jesus said, “Seek and you will find?”  Doesn’t the Bible say if you lack wisdom, ask God?  What does Jesus say to the two disciples on the road after his resurrection?  “25 Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken:  26 Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory?  27 And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.”  When the religious leaders say that Jesus cast out demons with the devil’s power what does Jesus say?  (Matthew 12) “25 And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand:  26 And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand?  27 And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? therefore they shall be your judges.  28 But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you.  29 Or else how can one enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house.  30 He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.  31 Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men.”  What in the context of this conversation was “blasphemy of the Holy Ghost” or what many call “The Unpardonable Sin”?  It is the Holy Spirit bringing to their attention through the Word of God that Jesus is preaching and through his power, that this is the Messiah, the Son of David, and God in the flesh!  What do they do with that silent witness?  They ignore it or suppress it and start saying awful things about Christ.  The only sin God won’t forgive is not accepting Jesus as your Savior, which is what the Spirit was prompting these men to do.

Understanding these things help us with the parable.  God’s Word is entering hearts with the power of the Holy Spirit and it is being resisted.  Today Satan is beginning to be seen as a hero.  He’s a TV star in a police procedural with the plot outline being, “Lucifer Morningstar has decided he's had enough of being the dutiful servant in Hell and decides to spend some time on Earth to better understand humanity. He settles in Los Angeles - the City of Angels. Lucifer, bored from his sulking life in hell, comes to live in Los Angeles.”  Satan (formerly called Lucifer) is a mass murderer that makes Hitler look like a ineffective child in comparison.  He loves to appear as an angel of light, “And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.” (2 Corinthians 11:14).  Can you imagine if a major TV station ran a new police procedural called, “Hitler!”  On the show, Hitler wearies of the death camps and goes to the future, living in LA and solves crimes.  The show runs jokes about the gas chambers killing Jews, Christians, and gay people.  No would stand for that.  Yet having a show about the most evil being in human history has been described by critics as, “Lucifer's got sex appeal, but the show's hackneyed cop procedural format undermines a potentially entertaining premise.”  Why do I bring Satan up?  Because in the parable of the Sower he is the first one that attacks the sown seed.  He flat out steals it from people’s hearts.  In a day where Atheists are trying to get schools to have Satan clubs because they think Satan is a great mythical rebel, that has great qualities they miss reality.  The real devil is a murderous psychopath who plots the destruction of as many human lives and nations as he can.  The Bible says he is a thief who comes to destroy, “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10)  Satan and his army of evil spirits whisper in people’s ears, “Oh, you don’t want to go to church.  You’re so tired.”  As the Bible is being preached he insists, “This is so BORING!”  When truth is being presented, he rolls his eyes and mutters in ears, “All the smart people don’t believe this!  Please don’t tell me you are falling for it!”   He has seen Almighty God but he whispers in the Atheists ear, “There is no God!”  A person starting to consider the claims of the Bible he laughs, “Come on!  There are so many religions in the world and Christianity is so fragmented!  Are you really falling for this religious junk?”  He steals with no other purpose than to destroy human life.  Unlike a mass murder who can only steal your life, he is trying to get people to burn forever, because he hates humans.  He doesn’t even like people that work for him.  When God asked the demons at the end of I Kings who was going to kill Ahab they didn’t say, “Nothing doing God!  We love that guy!  He works for us!”  No.  They are all trying to get the job!  They can’t wait to kill him!

The soil with shallow roots, I’ve seen many times.  These kinds of seed grow up in church or come to the Lord as an adult and are very enthusiastic for a time.  Then the world comes and mocks them.  “You really believe in a creation story?  All scientists believe in Evolution!  You believe in a world wide flood?  Are you stupid?  You think abortion is evil?  You think that various lifestyle decisions are evil?  You obviously hate women and you are an evil, hateful person!”  They fall away and say things like, “I don’t believe that stuff anymore.” 

The last and most dangerous one is the love of a secular life.  Why do Christians think they can ignore the Lord’s house (which Jesus Christ invented) and not read their Bible, and God will be okay with that?  The riches and tasks of this life overwhelm the Word of God and they stop bearing fruit.  I’m all for living life to the fullest but only with Jesus Christ at your side!  Christian marriages are falling apart, many times not because of their partner but because of your relationship with Christ!  Parents and Grandparents model that God’s house is a LOW priority and that the Bible is stupid.  Oh, they don’t say that or believe that but they model it none the less!  Thousands of people who know better are chasing their own will in America today and NOT God’s will.  Millions of children and grandchildren will go to Hell due to the apathy of the adults in their lives. 

Thinking about Christ's Return

Title: Thinking about Christ’s Return

I am a dispensationalist.  Some of you have no idea what I am talking about, others of you just shrugged, a few nod excitedly, and a minority of you are hissing with a cross up and preparing the holy water:)  I have sparred with people of the post-millennial persuasion over the years.  My favorite was when I was working at Dennys, a young guy found out I was a dispensationalist.  I don’t know how he figured that out, unless it was he knew what college I attended, but news flash, not everyone there was a dispensationalist.  Anyway, this guy discovered I was the bad guy...or at the least very wrong!  He proudly told me I’m a covenantalist!  I took that in stride.  A few days later we got our chance to talk about it.  Unlike the articulate, theologically astute people that I have clashed with over the years, this kid had no idea what he was talking about.  I finally said to him, “You need to go to your church, learn what you believe, and then come back to me.”  He wasn't happy with that but he dropped the argument.

I have also sparred with post-trib and mid-trib believers but I don’t think I’ve ever talked to a pre-wrath or amillennial.  It’s funny teaching Sunday School, calmly explaining that there are great Christians that do not believe in a future seven year tribulation.  Boy do I get some odd looks! 

Do you know what I have learned though?  Although theology is important, do you know what really matters?  Believing with all of your heart that, Jesus Christ is going to return, and that you will give an account of your life!  Every born again Christian holds this as true!  Matthew 26:64, “Jesus said to him, ‘You have said so. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.’”  Revelation 22:20, “He who testifies to these things says, ‘Surely I am coming soon.’ Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!”  John 14:3, “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.”  Titus 2:13, Waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,”  Matthew 16:27, “For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done.”  Hebrews 9:28, “So Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.”  I Thessalonians 5:23, “Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

The other thing you have to realize is that tied to Jesus coming back, is the Great White Throne Judgment and hell.  Believers may debate the time difference between these two events but we know it is going to happen.  Jesus talks a fair amount in the gospels of those going into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.  Jesus claimed he was the only way to heaven and I believe him!  John 14:6, “ Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”  I hope you have repented of your sins and made Jesus your God or in Christian speak, “your Lord and Savior.”  It is very important that you do so!

“But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:” (John 1:12)  Simple words that a born again person is very familiar with, but oh, so powerful.  I remember the day I was adopted by an earthly father, John Essigmann.  (My name used to be Adrian Lane.  I love my adopted father but the name he gave me is quite a handful!  Last night when Autumn was announced as winning different events in indoor track.  The announcer stumbled over her name...twice:)  I was asked by the judge if I wanted John Essigmann to be my father.  I said I did.  That changed my life.  The phrase, “Your not my dad,” is a common complaint in a world where marriages are imploding left and right.  John Essigmann didn’t start out as my father but he became my dad and I’m so blessed that he did!  I owe so much to him!  Your heavenly father wants to adopt you out of Satan’s Kingdom.  Don’t be proud.  Let your creator in your life and accept the God of the Bible as your God.  I obeyed my dad, John Essigmann, and we should obey our heavenly father!  You can start obeying with going to church this week.  What?  Jesus said, “I will build MY church.”  When you blow church off you spit in God's face and tell the creator that you know better.  Austinburg Baptist, the church I Pastor at, in the world.  There are many fine pastors and places.  (We have a reputation in PA for being THAT church, as in we are CRAZY...from what I have heard through the grapevine:)  You need to go to a church that believes we are all sinners, only Jesus can save you from sin, that you must be born again, and that the Bible is God’s Word.  I hope you will respect your creator’s wishes and put aside what you want to obey him!

I was reading Matthew 16 and 17 this morning when two thoughts it me. One was that Jesus famous rebuke to Peter, "Get thee behind me Satan," is followed up with "you are not setting you mind on the things of God, but on the things of man." ESV (Leland's Bible was handy this morning...I don't like the print size:) Boy, that hits home. Peter and the disciples were on the ground floor of something big. It would be like if I had bought stock in Nintendo, Marvel Movies, or the USA Today Newspaper before they got successful. Peter probably imagined Jesus taking the throne of David and ruling at that time. The disciples clearly thought this because in Acts they ask Jesus before he leaves, "6 When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?" But God had such different plans and those plans were amazing!! Peter, a poor fisherman, did awesome things! He escaped a prison in which he was guarded like he was in super max! He healed a lame man and brought a woman back to life! He became the leader of a movement that went from one city to a global reach. A student's college professor uses Peter as an example of why the Bible isn't true. "How could an unschooled fisherman do such a thing?" she argued! I don't know if the student trusted in my answer or the professors, but clearly the professor does not grasp the power of Almighty God! Anyway, this is so true in our lives. We have big plans sometimes. When God tells us directly that he has other plans we need to respect that and realize his way is the best way!

The other thought was Peter's wanting to build a tent for Jesus, Elijah, and Moses. God the Father rebukes Peter and refocuses him on Jesus. Peter got distracted by his admiration of two of God's servants that he missed the importance of Christ. I get this sometimes as a Pastor or people will feel this way about our church. I immediately try to warn them that the church or I will let them down at some point...only Christ will never fail! If you have gotten discouraged about your Pastor in that he has clay feet or you think he is a poor fit, or your church...you need to shift your focus. If Jesus is the focus then you will not need to be disappointed. You may need to forgive me or the church or work things out but you will have peace.