Luke 8:4-15

⁴ And when a great crowd was gathering and people from town after town came to him, he said in a parable, ⁵ “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the air devoured it. ⁶ And some fell on the rock, and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. ⁷ And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it. ⁸ And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded a hundredfold.” As he said these things, he called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

⁹ And when his disciples asked him what this parable meant, ¹⁰ he said, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God, but for others they are in parables, so that ‘seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.’ ¹¹ Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. ¹² The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. ¹³ And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of testing fall away. ¹⁴ And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. ¹⁵ As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience.”

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

The Scripture readings today seem present a contradiction. Our Old Testament reading (Is. 55:10-13)says that God’s Word always accomplishes the purpose for which God sends it. Just as the rain and the snow make things wet, God’s Word succeeds in everything God sends it to do. But then, in this Gospel lesson, it appears as though ³/₄^ths of the seed of God’s Word fails. To our eyes, the Sower throws around His seed ineffectively, haphazardly, and chaotically. So how can God say His Word always accomplishes the purpose for which He sends it?

I think they key to understanding this apparent paradox is… patience.

First, let’s consider the Seed that falls on the path. The seed that falls on the path is swallowed up by Satan and his demons. This looks like a total waste of good seed. But you know what happens after birds eat seeds? Those birds fly around and end up ‘depositing’ (which is the politest way I can think to say it) them somewhere else. To our eyes, seed on the path that gets devoured by birds looks like a total failure, but the Seed of God’s Word still works.

Second, the seed that falls on the rock. This seed springs up, and there is faith. But the plant doesn’t have much of a chance because there is no soil for roots to dig down and find moisture. Then, times of testing come and the plant dies as the sun scotches it. Now, if there had been roots, the sun would have been beneficial to the plant. Plants need sun and heat to grow. Even there, the Word works. The remarkable Seed of God’s Word is able to produce a plant even if it doesn’t last long.

Third is the seed that falls among the thorns. This is where we are going to spend most of our time and consideration today. The seed that falls among the thorns is choked out by the cares and pleasures of this world. Because you and I are all sinful and selfish, even good things in this life are a threat to our faith. Even the best gifts that God gives can entangle and trap you. So, enjoy the good gifts God gives you in this life, but also recognize how easily those things can choke out your faith. The harder you hold on to them, the more they take hold of you.

Now, how should we understand and apply this? Scripture doesn’t give specifics for each of us as to what chokes out our faith; instead, God’s Word gives us wisdom to discern what might be slowly strangling us. I am calling on you now to use that wisdom. Christian, there are times where you need to go out and pick weeds from your spiritual life. You can’t simply trim weeds. You have to pull them up by the root. We are ten days away from the beginning of Lent which begins a week from Wednesday. Lent is a good time to remove pluck the weeds that become a hinderance to God’s Word. The Scriptures call this fasting.

Fasting is not commanded, but Jesus does assume that His disciples will fast at times (see. Mt. 6:16-18). Fasting is not a way to make God more pleased with you. God is already completely pleased with you who believe that Jesus has forgiven you of all your sins. Instead, fasting is a way to uproot the thorns that the devil would use to choke out your faith. Fasting curbs your sinful, fleshly desires and tells your flesh, “Flesh, you are not in charge of me.”

So, you have ten days to consider what you might remove from your life for the forty days of Lent. Maybe, there is something that would be beneficial for you to give up in order to discipline your flesh and give extra attention to God’s Word. Again, God doesn’t command this. It’s not something you have to do, but it is a good practice. Don’t think that God will be more pleased with you if you fast. Instead, know that it is a good and beneficial to discipline yourself and deny yourself something, so that thing, whatever it is, doesn’t become a choking, strangling thorn in your life of faith. Doing that will help you to bear fruit with patience.

Another way to patiently bear fruit is to consider how you give to the ministry of God’s Word. I’ve said it before, this is not something I like to talk about. But, as your pastor, I am called to declare and teach the whole council of God. So, because the Scriptures talk about it, and because this text warns us about the danger that riches can be to faith, I’m addressing it today.

This time of year is a good opportunity to consider how you handle the riches that God has given you. You have recently received your year-end giving statement from our financial committee for 2021. Thank you to those who faithfully carry out that job. It is appreciated. So, you have the information about what you gave in the last year. As you prepare to file your taxes, you might be looking over that statement. I would encourage you to use that statement to consider how you are being a steward of what God has given you.

Here’s the recommendation: take out a calculator and figure out what percentage of your earnings last year were given to this congregation. Maybe you find out that you gave 3% of your income to Christ the King. First of all, thank you. What you give to this congregation is used by God to further His kingdom. Those gifts are used to fund the ministry here. They also go to help different charitable organizations in our community and mission projects throughout the world. So, again, thank you. 

Now, I would encourage you to consider increasing your giving by 10%. And, let me be clear, that doesn’t mean if you gave 3% that you give 13% this year. No. If you have 3% last year, prayerfully consider giving 3.3% this year. Or if you gave 7% last year, try to make it 7.7% this year. If everyone did that, we would easily make our budget for 2022. If you gave $1,500 in ‘21, try to increase that this year by giving $150 more and make it $1,650 for ‘22. And if you divide that amount over twelve months, it will probably feel a lot more manageable.

Doing that might mean that you bring snacks to your kids’ basketball tournaments rather than getting food from the concessions stand. Maybe it will mean going out to eat a little less this year. Wherever you might find that extra amount, I would encourage that you ask yourself: “Is this thing more important than than ministry of the Gospel and my kids and my brothers and sisters in Christ having a place where they can hear about Jesus and grow in their faith so they can produce fruit?” And maybe you can’t give as much as you did last year. Maybe your income will be less this year. God bless you. We love you and are here to help you. Just know that whatever you give to this congregation will be used by God to bear fruit over time.

Ok. That was all Law. And I hope and pray that it encourages you to consider how you use the gifts that God has given you. Now, we need the Gospel.

Hear again what Jesus says in the last verse of our text: “As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience.” Dear saints, you Christians, you are the good soil. You hear the Word of God. You hold it fast in an honest and good heart. And you bear fruit with patience.

Jesus promises that the good soil bears fruit. But that fruit requires patience. Sometimes the fruit you bear doesn’t come in a way that you will ever see, but that doesn’t matter. Jesus promises it is there, and the fruit you bear is of eternal benefit to you and to others. Whatever fruit you bear is used in service to God and His kingdom. And that fruit is never wasted, never lost, and never in vain.

Know that your honest and good heart has come from the Seed of the Word of God itself. The Word cleanses and forgives you. The Seed of the Word is what makes your heart clean (Jn. 15:2-3). And the fruit comes.

Don’t be surprised if you don’t see the massive, hundredfold production. Be patient. God is the one who will bring it about. Don’t fall into the devil’s temptation to measure how successful God’s Word is. If we try to measure the how successful God’s Word is by looking for our fruit, we will, without a doubt, be discouraged. Instead, remember that the success of God’s Word Is not dependent on what you see or experience. The success of God’s Word is dependent on His promises.

Dear Christians, to you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God. Hear and receive Christ’s Word. Hold it fast. Be continually nourished by that Word as you hear it, read it, learn it, and receive it now in the Lord’s Supper. And be patient. He who began a good work in you will be faithful to bring it to completion (Php. 1:6). Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.