“Just 10 More Minutes” By Pastor Ron Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23 Today we studied the parable of the Sower and interestingly enough, it really isn’t about the sower; it is about dirt. How often does a preacher get to preach about dirt? And we figured out in that discussion today that the sower isn’t just any ordinary farmer, the sower is God. Oh and the seeds…not just any ordinary seeds they are the word of God, His commands and ordinances. So if the sower is God, and the seeds are His word, what is the dirt? I found it almost humorous that God is portrayed as the sower in Christ’s parable and we are compared to dirt. Taking this a bit more literal than intended it is fitting, we are blessed beyond what we deserve and compared to the Father almighty…we are dirt. Then it gets explained that there is packed and hardened soil, rocky soil, soil of little depth, weed filled and good soil which is the only soil that can sustain growth and provide fruit. That’s us…soil that can be anyone of these and provide fruit in the way we live. And let’s look at that weedy soil and better understand what that is in today’s lives we live. These weeds today can better be described as possessions, money, illicit lives, lies, unbelief, and tolerance for things contrary to God. You see all these things in our lives can then choke out what God teaches us in His word. They choke out the things scripture tells us. As we become more and more accepting or tolerate we lose the true meaning of living Christ like. If we look at Jesus, He was NOT tolerant of things contrary to scripture; In Matthew 21:12 we read: 12 Then Jesus entered the temple[c] and drove out all who were selling and buying in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. 13 He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer’; but you are making it a den of robbers.” He did not tolerate the weeds that were growing up around those in the temple so why do we? Let us NOT be the weedy soil, allowing secular acceptance choke out the word of God. Don’t let the weeds of this world choke out Christianity. People wear bracelets that read WWJD – What Would Jesus Do. I think we can see what He would and did do in scripture. Turn over the tables and pluck the weeds so God’s word may flourish and bear fruit. Jesus refused to allow the weeds to continue to grow, the temple traders were turning God’s Holy place into a place of cheating and little spirit. Jesus refused to accept this and took action. In turning over the money changers tables He was pulling the weeds from seeds sown. He was not only safe guarding the temples Holiness, He was protecting those around from allowing the seed God had sown in them to be choked out by things of the world…by money. In verse 22 we read: As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing. The scripture speaks of “cares of the world” citing the distractions that pull us away from Christianity but then speaks to money specifically. Money can be one of the greatest enemies we face…prioritizing it over what God calls upon us to do in His behalf. So, let us pull the weeds from your garden that God has sown in you and don’t let those weeds of this world choke out what we are called to do. Amen
Posted on: Sun, 13 Jul 2014 17:48:11 +0000
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