Sow

Title: Sow

Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23

Matthew 13:1-9

1 उसी दिन यीशु घर से निकलकर झील के किनारे जा बैठा। 2 और उसके पास ऐसी बड़ी भीड़ इकट्ठी हुई कि वह नाव पर चढ़ गया, और सारी भीड़ किनारे पर खड़ी रही। 3 और उस ने उन से दृष्टान्तों में बहुत सी बातें कही, कि देखो, एक बोने वाला बीज बोने निकला। 4 बोते समय कुछ बीज मार्ग के किनारे गिरे और पक्षियों ने आकर उन्हें चुग लिया। 5 कुछ पत्थरीली भूमि पर गिरे, जहां उन्हें बहुत मिट्टी न मिली और गहरी मिट्टी न मिलने के कारण वे जल्द उग आए। 6 पर सूरज निकलने पर वे जल गए, और जड़ न पकड़ने से सूख गए। 7 कुछ झाड़ियों में गिरे, और झाड़ियों ने बढ़कर उन्हें दबा डाला। 8 पर कुछ अच्छी भूमि पर गिरे, और फल लाए, कोई सौ गुना, कोई साठ गुना, कोई तीस गुना। 9जिस के कान हों वह सुन ले॥

Matthew 13:18-23

18 सो तुम बोने वाले का दृष्टान्त सुनो। 19 जो कोई राज्य का वचन सुनकर नहीं समझता, उसके मन में जो कुछ बोया गया था, उसे वह दुष्ट आकर छीन ले जाता है; यह वही है, जो मार्ग के किनारे बोया गया था। 20 और जो पत्थरीली भूमि पर बोया गया, यह वह है, जो वचन सुनकर तुरन्त आनन्द के साथ मान लेता है। 21 पर अपने में जड़ न रखने के कारण वह थोड़े ही दिन का है, और जब वचन के कारण क्लेश या उपद्रव होता है, तो तुरन्त ठोकर खाता है। 22 जो झाड़ियों में बोया गया, यह वह है, जो वचन को सुनता है, पर इस संसार की चिन्ता और धन का धोखा वचन को दबाता है, और वह फल नहीं लाता। 23 जो अच्छी भूमि में बोया गया, यह वह है, जो वचन को सुनकर समझता है, और फल लाता है कोई सौ गुना, कोई साठ गुना, कोई तीस गुना।

 

Good morning, everyone.

I hope you all are well and joyful this morning.

My wife lost her cellphone last week and she soon got a new phone.

When she got a new phone, she was happy and could do certain things that she was not able to do.

I was imagining if I would have lost my phone, I would be very anxious and try to find the alternative cell as soon as possible.

But right now I don’t have enough value of my mobile, I keep it somewhere because I know I have it.

Sometimes we are not aware of the value of certain things as there are so common and we forget its importance.

Today we are going to see the word of God that we often forget what it is for and what is the purpose of the word of God.

Jesus taught in parables.

Parables are the stories that challenges the lister to think and meditate on the meaning of the stories.

 

Main Body

Jesus today is telling us the story of the farmer.

In the time of Jesus, farmer sow the seeds by throwing them (see the picture) and then it was plowed into the ground.

1.       The path side is where people walked, and nothing could grow because the ground was too hard.

This kind of soil represents the path because there is so much noise and traffic.
People come and go nothing stays at one place.

This soil represents the people who hear the word of God but do not understand that.

Word of God must be understood before it could bear the fruit.

In our church we have 3 Bible studies going on.

Please join one of them if you not into any Bible study group before we could understand what the words means and what is the significance of the word.

We will not be able to bring fruit or harvest.

2 Corinthians 4:3-4: परन्तु यदि हमारे सुसमाचार पर परदा पड़ा है, तो यह नष्‍ट होनेवालों ही के लिये पड़ा है। 4और उन अविश्‍वासियों के लिये, जिन की बुद्धि इस संसार के ईश्‍वर ने अंधी कर दी है, ताकि मसीह जो परमेश्‍वर का प्रतिरूप है, उसके तेजोमय सुसमाचार का प्रकाश उन पर न चमके।

Plan of the enemy is to not let the word of God sit with us, he wants to snatch the truth from us so that we may forget the seed.

 

2.       Rocky places were where the soil was thin, lying upon a rocky shelf.

On this ground the seed springs up quickly because of the warmth of the soil, but the seed is unable to take root because of the rocky shelf.

Now the rocky place is the place where the seed fell on the soil that is on the rock, so only thin layer of soil is there.

Just enough to get small weak root but not enough to sustain the sun.

This kind of soil is used for the people who respond to the word with enthusiasm yet soon wither away.

Jesus says: But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root.

Suddenness is not the problem here, but the problem lies when we lack the depth.

But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. Verse 21

3.       Among thorns describes soil that is fertile – perhaps too fertile for thorns to grow not the seed.

Third is the one who listens to the not only to the word of God but also the noise of the world as well.

Some respond to the word and grow for a while, but are choked and stopped in their spiritual growth by competition from unspiritual things.

The noise and ambition of this world chokes the seed that the word of God.

4.       Good ground describes soil that is both fertile and weed-free. A good, productive crop grows in the good ground.

This soil represents those who receive the word, and it bears fruit in their soil.

This is the perfect example of good soil and how we believers need to respond, by producing fruit.

 

Conclusion:

My dear brothers and sisters, as we will be going for winter retreat in first week of Feb.

I want that we may prepare ourselves by todays word.

Sermon series has started from this Sunday.

This year goal is to spread the gospel.

I want to encourage you to understand why we are going to retreat? what is the purpose of the retreat?

How can we make this retreat a productive journey?

This year God is telling us to go and harvest the crop, however we need to understand few things before we go and start harvesting.

1.       We need to understand that we can harvest if we have sown.

How can we go and harvest, if we have not prepared our filed and planted the seeds?

We need to plant so that we could harvest.

There is lots of potential harvest around us.

We can see lots of people who are walking in the darkness, who have no hope or are just living their lives without purpose.

Some have purpose but that purpose very selfish and small.

We can see lots of helplessness and sickness around us.

We need to reach out to these people.

Surly when we reach out not all will hear or listen, only people who are spiritually sensitive could hear.

People who are lazy and do not want to change will not hear and even deny it.

That is fine.

Maybe Jesus wants us to teach even though you reach out to many people we will find these four kinds of soils.

He wants us to prepare for what should we expect and at the same time he wants us to look inside and make necessary changes to what changes we need.

We cannot sow unless we have seeds.

One seed is given to my heart if that seed is not multiplied, how can I sow.

I need to plant that seed in me and keep watch that bird might not take it, plant it in deep soil and stay away from the thrones of this world.

So that I may bring fruit 100 times, 60 times and 30 times.

Once I have the harvest, I can then start planting in the soils I have around me.

I will not discriminate between soil.

I will plant and wait for the Lord to work in them.

There are other things I need to take care after I plant but we will hear about them in our retreat.

My dear brothers and sisters, let us prepare our heart and sow the word of God in our hearts.

Let us keep wait for the Lord what he wants to teach us pray for his guidance.

Let me pray and finish.