Kingdom Seed
0 Amens
Due to techincal difficulties, we do not have the audio for this sermon.
It's good to be home! You may not have even noticed, but Erin and I were out of town last week. Exactly one week ago, I woke up at 8:30 Alaska time, 11:30 here and thought, "well Josh is just getting done preaching by now." And since there was no type of formal worship service on the cruise ship, I worshipped at Bedside Baptist. Layed in bed, reading the passage Josh was preaching from that morning, listened to some worship music on my ipod and then I think I feel back asleep.
I'll tell you, our trip was a worshipful experience...It's impossible to view the incredible scenery that we saw and not be in complete awe of our Creator.
When I travel, I like to wear sports clothes from my hometown. No one commented on my GEHS sweatshirt. But I did get some comments on my Royals shirt, "Royals, huh." A few people were from KC, but most were just shocked to know that Royals fans really do exist. I wore a Jayhawk football shirt one day, so I talked with some people from Kansas, all of whom were K-State grads. And when I wore my Iowa football shirt I got asked over and over, "Iowa, huh? You guys flooded?" Because if you haven't seen on the news, what used to be the state of Iowa is now one big river. Especially Southeast Iowa, where I'm from. My parents aren't flooded, but some relatives are and my home town is overrun by the Mississippi. Homes, business, farms, completely flooded. And even though my parents farm isn't flooded, dad's worried about the crops being washed out. Not good.
So on our flight from Minneapolis to KC on Tuesday morning, it was quite a shock to see an article in the Minneapolis Star Tribune about how the floods are helping Minnesota farmers. With so much of the corn crop being wiped out, corn prices are going up even higher. With fields in Iowa, Illinois and Indiana being wiped out, farmers in Minnesota are about ready to make bank.
That's farming for you. If it's not a flood it's a drought. Hail, early frost. And if the crop is good all across the region, the prices drop. That's farming.
If it's true in the days of irrigation, hybrid seed corn and $200,000 tractors, then think of how much more true that would've been in Jesus' day, when everything was done by hand. The rate of return on seed was a lot lower than it is today. When a seed grew and multiplied, it was something to be celebrated.
This morning, we're kicking off a sermon series that will go up through our last Sunday at Madison Elementary. As you can see on your weekly, the series is entitled "Glimpses of the Kingdom." We'll be looking at the stories Jesus told to help people get a glimpse of the Kingdom he had come into the world to establish. The best way to define the kingdom is this, "the domain where the King reigns." Jesus wants to establish his rule in your heart, my heart, in our church. Jesus wants to work through all of us to expand his rule into more and more lives.
We're committed to making the Kingdom a reality by living out The 5. To live by these disciplines is to submit yourself to the rule of Jesus and to invite others into the kingdom as well.
The first glimpse of the kingdom that we're going to look at the story of the sower. Matthew 13:1-23
The name for these glimpses are "parables." Parables were a form of story mean to inspire the faith of Jesus' followers. They also frustrated those who were against Jesus. Parables are a great example of the sheer genius of Jesus' teaching methods. We'll be talking more about the function of parables as we go through this series.
In this parable, Jesus is using symbols that make a direct connection to the realities of his kingdom. Two really important symbols are the Farmer and the Seed. The Farmer represents God the Father and the Seed represents Jesus. The whole point of us being on this earth is to know Jesus Christ. And God the Father will do whatever it takes to get our attention of our need for Jesus. A lot of you are knew in your relationship with Jesus and you have some amazing stories about how God got your attention. And what's amazing about the Farmer in this story is that he throws this seed everywhere. We see all over scripture that it's God's desire that everyone know Jesus. Not everyone will make the decision to follow Jesus but God extends the offer to every single person. Even knowing that some people are going to reject Jesus. That's how powerful God's love really is.
This story shows us four different responses people make to the seed of Jesus. Their response is determined by the type of soil the seed falls on. The condition of the soil is determined by the heart of the person who encounters Jesus. We're going to look at all 4 responses, but I want to start with the 4th response. 4) Fertile Soil This is God's end game. It's God's desire that every person allow the seed of Jesus to grow in their lives so that this fertile soil picture becomes a reality. Let's look at Jesus' description, vs. 8, 23.
One seed producing 30 more seeds was a really good crop. A hundred-fold crop was a once in a lifetime harvest. God expects our life to multiply. If you're a part of the Kingdom, your life is not your own. You're experiencing the love of Jesus Christ so you can bring that love to others. Your life is multiplied 30, 60, 100 times.
I'll say this over and over during this sermon series. The Kingdom of Jesus stands in opposition to the Kingdom of the world. The way of Jesus is counter-cultural. The way of Jesus goes against the "common sense" of the world. And one of the most obvious counter-cultural aspects of the Kingdom, is that those in the Kingdom of Jesus understand that it's not about me. I'm no longer in control of my life. My life does not exist for my own pleasure or my own fulfillment. The life of following Jesus is a life given in service to God and to other people. Repeat And when we give up self-control, God multiplies the effectiveness of our live.
Jesus very clearly stated that if we want to be his followers, we leave everything behind, pick our cross (which represents self-sacrifice) and follow Jesus. Pick up your cross or go home. Each of our 5 disciplines is in one way or another about focusing on others.
And that goes against everything our culture tell us. Our culture tells us that happiness and fulfillment is just within our grasp. If we just lose 20 pounds, or we get that job promotion, or we get that new house, achieve that success - then we'll be fulfilled. No! Fulfillment comes only in denying self and following Jesus.
It's a paradox. The wonderful thing about God's plan and his grace is that when we decide to hand over control of our life to Jesus, we discover that we're living life the way it was meant to live. Fulfillment comes not in looking to self first, but in looking to Jesus first.
Understanding and living this paradox provides the fertile soil for the seed of Jesus to multiply in our lives. That is living.
But the scary thing is that there are so many pitfalls in this life that can keep our soil from becoming fertile.
1) Footpath vs. 19 Jesus says some people just don't understand. But Jesus isn't using "understand" in simply an intellectual sense, but in a wholistic sense. To better understand, look at the quote Jesus pulls from the OT preacher, Isaiah. Vs. 14-15 These are people who won't even entertain the idea of following Jesus. This is where a lot of people are at. They don't even want to consider following Jesus. "You want me to give my life to Jesus? I'm the only one who calls the shots in my life, especially not someone I can't even see." The way of Jesus is counter-cultural.
2) Rocky Soil vs.20-21 Even though the way of Jesus is about self-sacrifice, we all come to Jesus for selfish reasons. For what we get out of it. And the great news is that Jesus accepts us no matter our motive. And he starts healing our brokenness and it's powerful. There's nothing better than being around a new Christ-follower experiencing the new life of Jesus. But what always happens in our early walk with Christ is that we come to a critical point of decision. "Am I following Jesus because of what I get out of it or because I love Jesus and want to give him my life?" That's a critical question because it determines whether the seed continues to grow or whether it gets choked out by problems or persecution.
You can take this to the bank; if you're following Jesus you're going to have a values clash with those in your life who don't follow Jesus. Boyfriend - "what do you mean we're not having sex anymore because you're following Jesus." Boss - "what do you mean you won't lie for me anymore." Golfing buddies - "No Sunday morning tee-time anymore?" Girlfriends - "you're canceling our shopping trip to spend time with family?"
If you're serious about a Jesus honoring lifestyle, not everyone is going to appreciate that. This doesn't mean you have a holier-than-thou attitude. But you are going to have to decide who is really in control. And the real struggle may not be with other people, but with your own desires. "Sure, Jesus is changing my life, but there are some changes I'm not going to let happen." And if we refuse to give up control, the life of Jesus gets choked out. I've seen this way too often over these 3 years and it really hurts.
3) Thorny soil vs.22 The rocky soil is dealing with some surface, ethical questions. This thorny soil is dealing with even deeper issues. I think this is where a lot of people are at. They've feel following Jesus long enough for some roots to grow but because they haven't surrendered deeper issues, thorns have grown up. These thorns are choking out the life of Jesus.
Jesus points out two types of thorns that choke out our life; 1) the worries of this life and 2) the lure of wealth. Worries could apply to a lot of things. And this is where I often see the life of Jesus choked away from my own life, worrying about stuff. What if the IVF doesn't work? What if it does work and we have twins? I could go on and on.
There's a book I'd strongly recommend, The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom. Corrie's family was sent to a Nazi concentration camp for sheltering Jews in their home in Holland. It's a mind-blowing story of faith in the midst of terrifying circumstances. I just came across a quote from Corrie ten Boom this week, Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow; it empties today of its strength. What about my job, will God take care of my kids, can I forgive the most painful thing ever done to me? Following Jesus means entrusting these deep worries to God. Worries is very open ended.
The second thorn, the lure of wealth, is really specific. Now I know that whenever I address money, my approval rating takes a serious dip. Which raises my respect for Jesus because he talked about money ALL the time. So I'd make more friends if I just avoided Jesus' teaching. Jesus is clear, "the lure of wealth chokes out the life of Jesus."
Now, you may think, "I don't have to worry, I'm not wealthy." And maybe by affluent Johnson county's standards, we're middle class. But by the world's standards, we're very wealthy. To not have to worry about basics and having enough money for non-essentials, we'd be considered wealthy by Jesus' standards.
Stats in our denomination reveal that the higher percentage of a person's income that goes to necessities like food and shelter, the higher a percentage of their income they give away. You'd think it would be the opposite, if you didn't have to worry about food you'd be more free to give. But the more affluent a society becomes, the less generous they become.
A couple reasons for that. 1) If you're surviving day-to-day, you're much more aware that God is the source of all provision. For those of us who are sheltered from the concern of whether our family will eat tomorrow, we buy into the illusion of self-sufficiency. "I work hard for what I've got, it's all mine." No, it all belongs to God.
2) The more we have, the more likely we become enslaved to the lure of wealth. . I'd translate "the lure of wealth" as "paying the bills." You hear this all the time, "life's tough, I've got bills to pay." But if we'd analyze our "bills," we'd see they're things we don't really need. But we've bought into the lie that they're necessities.
The lure of wealth is why people say, "I feel so guilty, but I just can't be generous." And then they'll tell you about their vacation, the new cellphone they just bought themselves or their kids, the show they just tivo'd on their cable. There's nothing wrong with nice things, but if you have nothing, the God doesn't have to compete with cable TV, vacations, new clothes, Nintendo Wii. We've let marketing strategies meant to make us discontent choke out the life that comes from generosity.
So the question of the kingdom is "who are we going to live for?" Am I living for self or am I living for Jesus?
I'd like to always be living with fertile soil, but it isn't always the case. To get home from our trip, we had to take an overnight flight from Anchorage to Minneapolis. I'll be tired, so it will be easy to sleep, right?
Right across the aisle was a mom with a 2 and 4 year old, making their annual trip to Buffalo to visit family. This was the first of 3 flights they had to take. I'm not exaggerating when I say the 2 year old was screaming throughout the entire 5 hour flight. Even during the half hour we had to wait for our gate to open. There were some pretty self-centered thoughts going through my head. Namely, "why did you have to take your 2 year old on a flight during their bedtime. I wanted to sleep and I was not happy. My attitude was full of thorns, keeping the kingdom from breaking into that tense situation.
But you know what, the Kingdom was breaking in on that flight. It was happening through the cute brunette sitting next to; singing this boy to sleep over and over for hours. Erin went hoarse, singing him to sleep only to have him wake up and start screaming again. As I studied this passage, God reminded me that my decisions determine the fertility of my soil.
I want to both encourage and challenge you with the realization that we're never stagnant. Our soil is constantly becoming more fertile or more rocky. Our decisions determine the state of our soil.
We're going to take a few minutes to journal and reflect. There will be questions and scripture on the screen and a place for you to write on your weekly.
Have you answered the question of who is in charge of your life? Is it self or Jesus? leave up for one minute
What areas of your life are thorny or rocky? What areas are fertile soil for the "seed" of Jesus? Leave up for one minute
2 Corinthians 9:6 leave up for 30 seconds
Galatians 6:7-8 leave up for one minute
Matthew 13:12 leave up for 30 seconds
.
Comments:
Login to post comments