In the name of Christ Jesus, dear fellow redeemed people of God,

Sometimes, we might be tempted to think that not much is being accomplished by all of these sermons from this pulpit. If everything depended on the pastor's power and ability, not much would be accomplished. But, we are not here to proclaim our own message. We are here to proclaim God's saving Word. And as we heard from our Old Testament lesson, God's Word will achieve God's purpose! God's Word works! Yet, not everyone ends up a believer. Jesus explains that today in his parable of the sower. Today, let us learn from Jesus:

{1} That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. {2} Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. {3} Then he told them many things in parables, saying: "A farmer went out to sow his seed." A parable is an earthly story with a heavenly meaning. Jesus began this parable with the words, "A farmer went out to sow his seed." Picture an ancient farmer reaching into a bag and throwing out seed. In this parable, "The seed is the word of God" (Luke 8:11). That's a very important point.

If we do not preach God's Word from this pulpit, then we are not even throwing out seed. I cannot refrain from making a comment on Larry King's recent interview with Pastor Joel Osteen (6/20/05). Pastor Osteen was advertised as this young up and coming pastor, leading the fasting growing church in America. But Larry King threw him the ultimate softball question when he said, "I know that many Christians claim that it's all about faith in Jesus. If you have faith in Jesus you go to heaven. If you don't have faith in Jesus, you go to hell. What do you say?" What a great question for any real pastor answer. First, the popular pastor stammered nervously about how he doesn't like to answer that question. Then he said that he spent time in India as a child, and that he knew those people loved God too... But what God? It seemed he was referring to the religion of Hinduism, and if so, they worship cows! To me, it was an example of how a person can seek popularity so much that he completely and utterly fails to testify for Christ. What an opportunity he had, on Larry King's show, to say, "yes, Larry, it is all about faith in Jesus! He is the only Savior and the only way to heaven, and I urge everyone to learn about Jesus and what he did for you on the cross." No, instead he turned tail and ran into political correctness that is doctrinal heresy. If he had answered that question correctly, that would have been sowing the seed, and then there would have been various results, some of which would have been good! Instead, he failed to sow the seed of the gospel, and so nothing good could come of that. May God have mercy on us so that we do not fail to testify, so that we do not fail to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ.

So, before I even get to the parable, I want to be very clear. We are all sinners. We all fall short of what God expects of us. But Jesus Christ came to save us, and save us he did! He lived a perfect life for us. He died on the cross and paid for all of our sins. He rose from death, and God has declared us "forgiven" of all of our sins. Hear the gospel of the Lord: You are forgiven through Christ! Believe in Jesus and you will go to heaven. Now, I have just thrown out the seed of the gospel. What is going to happen? Let's study Christ's parable.

{4} As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. In those days, they did not have the system of paved roads that we have today. It was not unusual to have people walking right through the fields, and wearing a path into the ground. That ground was as hard as a gravel road in July. When the farmer threw seeds along the path, they probably bounced. Birds would eat those seeds, and that would be the end of it.

{5} Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. {6} But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. This is a shallow layer of dirt on top of bedrock. Since this soil is quite warm, the plants spring up quickly. But soon, the plants are in trouble because they can't put down roots that are deep enough to sustain them.

{7} Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. If you plant something nice, and let the weeds grow, before long the weeds will take over. Weeds always seem bigger and taller and hardier. Weeds take the water, block the sun, and kill the good plants. When seed fell among thorns, the thorns won out and choked the plants.

{8} Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop - a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. {9} He who has ears, let him hear." Some seed fell on good soil, and produced a crop. So what's the point? Let's read on and let Jesus himself explain the parable.

Jesus said: {18} "Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: {19} When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path. These are the people who hear the message of the gospel, but it means nothing to them. They are careless hearers. They don't "understand" or "comprehend" the message, because it sounds like foolishness to them. The Word never really gets into their hearts. When they say, "That makes no sense" the devil takes away the Word, and they have no chance to believe. In this group are people who are always talking about what they think, instead of hearing what God's Word says. Their hearts are hard so the Word bounces off of them. If you tell him, "You have a Savior," he will say, "A Savior from what? Why do I need a Savior?" Such people don't really care what God's Word says, and soon they have it no more. So we must move on to the next type.

{20} The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. {21} But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away. Some people hear the gospel and become eager and joyful, and filled with positive emotions. They say "it feels so good to be here." But that superficial emotional joy does not last. They dig no deeper into God's Word. When trouble comes along, they quickly fall away. They are "fair weather members." Emotions can be nice, but we should not base our faith on them. What happens when the positive feelings aren't feeling so positive any more? As we heard from today's epistle Christians do suffer! We will not live in a perfect world until we reach our heavenly home. But when suffering comes our way, we should not walk away from Jesus and his Word! This group of people does walk away. When the going gets rough, they quit. Let's learn from this. Sometimes we go through times of difficulty. But that is the time when we need to dig down deep into God's Word for help and guidance, and strength and support. May none of us be "shallow enthusiasts" who quickly fall away.

{22} The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful. This what happens when worldly people hear the gospel and want to keep their worldly ways. They hear the Word of God, but it is not the number one priority in their lives. They are always pushing off God's Word for other things like work and fun, and family and friends. They have thorns in their lives choking out their faith! We read about "the worries of this life." Beware of an undue focus on THIS life, and not the life to come. Constantly living for today, and forgetting all about eternity, is a serious mistake. Then we read about "the deceitfulness of wealth." Wealth can be a trap. The mouse thinks that the cheese looks pretty good, but when he samples it, the bar goes, "SNAP!" The trap closes and he is done for. Many people run after money and wealth in this life, but it's a trap. When death or Judgment Day come, the trap will quickly slam shut.

Be careful that you do not become too worldly. It's fine to have money, a career, and nice things, AS LONG AS these things do not get in the way of our faith and hearing God's Word. God and His Word must come first! Everything else must move aside, otherwise, our faith can be choked out by these thorns. We live in a great country, a land of plenty, but do not set your hearts on worldly things. Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. But let us put first things first!

Thank God, there are some happy endings! Jesus concludes by describing the good reaction to God's Word...{23} But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown." May these words be talking about us. May we hear the Word, comprehend it, and produce a crop for the Lord. May our faith produce much fruit, and may we yield for our Savior a hundred times what was sown. May we, with our words and mission dollars, reach out to many more people with the saving gospel of Jesus Christ. But first, receive the message: Jesus saved you from sin! Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved!

Then, let us cast out the seed, and may the Lord do his work in people's hearts even as he works in our own. Amen.