Sunday, July 31, 2011

Taken, Blessed, Broken, Given

Taken, Blessed, Broken, Given

Luke 9: 10 – 17, Luke 22: 19, Luke 24: 30 – 32

Introduction

This morning we will observe the Lord’s Supper together as a congregation. Some churches refer to the Lord’s Supper as a sacrament. A sacrament is a means to receive the Grace of God.

As Baptists, we do not recognize any sacraments. Other churches recognize as few as two sacraments or as many as seven sacraments. The most common sacraments in Christian churches are baptism and the Lord’s Supper. We practice both baptism and the Lord’s Supper, but we don’t think of them as ways to receive God’s Grace. Instead, we recognize them as ordinances—symbols of what God has already done in our lives.

Of course, you know that there are several different ways that churches practice baptism. There is baptism by immersion, which is our practice. And, there is baptism by sprinkling and baptism by pouring. The different methods of baptism are the result of three different understandings of baptism.

Most, if not all, Christian churches observe the Lord’s Supper in one form or another. There are two elements in the Lord’s Supper—bread and wine, of course our tradition is to use non-alcoholic grape juice.

In some churches, the bread and wine are known as the Eucharist. Eucharist is the English form of the Greek word eucharisto, which means “to give thanks.” In these Christian churches, the purpose of eating the bread and drinking the wine is to “give thanks” to God for the salvation offered through the death and resurrection of Jesus.

The most common way churches refer to the bread and wine is the term Communion. The word “communion” refers to a mystical relationship between Christ and the person who eats the bread and drinks the wine. Some churches believe that the bread and the wine actually become the body and blood of Jesus when it is consecrated in the worship service. Others believe that the presence of Christ inhabits the bread and the wine in a miraculous way. In both cases, “Communion” refers to the way the actual presence of Christ or the symbolic presence of Christ enter into the person who eats and drinks the elements.

In our tradition, we refer to the meal of bread and wine as the Lord’s Supper. For us this is a symbolic meal through which we remember the body of Christ broken and given for us and the blood of Jesus poured out for us.

Eucharist means to give thanks to God through eating and drinking. Communion means to commune with God through eating and drinking. The Lord’s Supper means to remember the death and resurrection of Jesus through eating and drinking. This is the reason we have Jesus’ words printed across the front of our Lord’s Supper table, “Do this in remembrance of me.”

In our remembering this morning, we remember the bread reminds us of the body of Jesus, and the wine (juice) reminds us of the blood of Jesus. However, I want to focus on the bread today by looking at three places in the Gospel of Luke where Jesus served bread.

Read Luke 9: 10 – 17

10 When the apostles returned, they reported to Jesus what they had done. Then he took them with him and they withdrew by themselves to a town called Bethsaida,

11 but the crowds learned about it and followed him. He welcomed them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who needed healing.

12 Late in the afternoon the Twelve came to him and said, "Send the crowd away so they can go to the surrounding villages and countryside and find food and lodging, because we are in a remote place here."

13 He replied, "You give them something to eat." They answered, "We have only five loaves of bread and two fish-- unless we go and buy food for all this crowd."

14 (About five thousand men were there.) But he said to his disciples, "Have them sit down in groups of about fifty each."

15 The disciples did so, and everybody sat down.

16 Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke them. Then he gave them to the disciples to set before the people.

17 They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.

(NIV)


This is the only miracle which appears in all four Gospels. There is something significant about the feeding of the five thousand. I don’t think this is a Lord’s Supper story. On one hand, it doesn’t contain the two elements of the Lord’s Supper—bread and wine. On the other hand, we don’t need this to be a Lord’s Supper story. Later in the Gospels, Jesus explicitly serves bread and wine to his disciples and institutes the Lord’s Supper by commanding us to continue doing this in remembrance of him.

More than likely, the significance of this story is the way it demonstrates Jesus as the fulfillment of the Jewish hope for a coming Messiah. The Messiah would be like Moses and Elijah and would provide food for God’s people. Therefore, this story shows us how Jesus is the Messiah by connecting the dots between Old Testament prophecy and the earthly life of Jesus.

Most of the time, we focus on the facts of Jesus’ miracle. We talk about the large crowd of people—five thousand men, not including the women and children. We talk about the little boy who shared his common lunch of bread and fish. Or we talk about the way Jesus’ miracle produced enough food for everyone to eat, AND there were twelve basketsful of leftovers!

Instead of focusing on the facts of the miracle, I want you to notice HOW Jesus performed the miracle. We might even say that Jesus used a process for performing this miracle. The process shows up in Luke 9: 16, “Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke them. Then he gave them to the disciples to set before the people.”

Jesus did four things with the bread. He took the bread. He blessed the bread. He broke the bread. He gave the bread.

I find it interesting that Luke tells us two other stories about Jesus’ serving bread, and uses the same four verbs in each story.

When Jesus gathered his disciples in the Upper Room to share their last Passover meal together, he served bread. Luke 22: 19, “And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them saying, ‘This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.’”

After the resurrection, Jesus met two travelers on the road to Emmaus. The travelers were amazed that Jesus wasn’t aware of the events that had taken place over the past several days. The travelers thought they had found the Messiah, but this Messiah was crucified. It was obvious to them that Jesus could not be both the Messiah and crucified. Then, Jesus explained the Scriptures to them and joined them for supper. Luke 24: 30 – 32, “When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. They asked each other, ‘Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?’”

Every time Jesus served bread, he did four things. He took the bread. He blessed the bread. He broke the bread. He gave the bread.

In the Gospel of John, Jesus told us that he is the Bread of Life. As the Bread of Life, Jesus is the source of life for us—just as bread was the primary source of nourishment in the ancient world. However, we can also say that Jesus is the Bread of Life, because he was Taken, Blessed, Broken and Given for us[1]. In the same way, if you and I want to be used by God, we must recognize the ways we have been Taken, Blessed, Broken and Given.

Taken

Jesus could not serve the bread to his followers until he “took” the bread. In the same way, Jesus was taken—or chosen—to be the Unique Son of God, the Promised Messiah for Israel.

We know that Jesus was chosen by God through an event that took place at the beginning of his ministry. Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist. When Jesus came out of the water, the Spirit of God descended on him in the form of a dove. A voice from Heaven said, “This is my beloved Son. In him I am well pleased.”

This is one of the most important things we need to recognize about ourselves to think of ourselves as God’s children. We have been taken by God.

Perhaps it is better to use the word “chosen” when we talk about people. But we do use the word “taken” to talk about ourselves. For example, sometimes a young man might ask a young girl out on a date. If she already has a boyfriend, she might answer by saying, “I can’t go out with you, because I am taken.” In the same way, when we are approached by all the temptations of the world, we should say, “I can’t go along with what you are asking of me, because I am already taken.”

We don’t really like to use the word “chosen,” because it gives the impression of winners and losers. That is not the Spiritual understanding of being chosen. That understanding comes from our own sinful desires to compete against others and to be considered elite.

It’s the same mistake Israel made. Israel was God’s chosen people. They thought this meant they were in competition with the rest of the nations and the races on earth. They believed that since they had been chosen by God, no one else could be chosen. Yet, this was not God’s intention. It was God’s plan to choose Israel so that other nations and all races could also be chosen by God.

Israel was not chosen to be God’s ONLY people. They were chosen so that all peoples could be included in God’s chosen people. The same thing is true for us. We were not chosen to be God’s ONLY people. We were chosen to include others.

Blessed

The biblical idea of blessing means to speak well of someone, or to speak good words to someone. As Christians, we are blessed by God…But we have a hard time hearing God’s good words about us. The blessing is usually drowned out by the loud voices of cursing. We watch TV and listen to the news about our world. We feel cursed and abandoned in a world we cannot change. We often think of ourselves as victims, rather than the chosen children of God.

Perhaps we need to remember God’s words to Jesus at his baptism. Just as God spoke his blessing over Jesus, he is speaking a blessing over you. You are not worthless. You are not just another person among billions of people on earth. You are God’s child.

The only way to receive God’s blessing and good words about us is to learn how to listen to God’s voice over all other voices. We can listen to God through prayer.

Prayer, in its true form, involves both speaking to God and listening to God. It is a mistake to think we have more to say to God than he has to say to us. We can listen to God’s blessing through silence and by meditating on Scripture. We ought to develop the discipline of prayer by speaking to God about all our needs and concerns then listening to God’s still small voice. The Scriptures contain the word of God. It is not God’s word to Israel or even God’s word to the early church. It is God’s word to you and me. If we refuse to open our Bibles and listen to God’s word to us, we cannot hear God’s words of blessing over all the curses of the world.

Broken

Brokenness is a natural part of what it means to be human. I am a broken person. You are a broken person. Every person you know is broken. And every person you see on television and through the media is a broken person. We learn how to hide our brokenness and pretend that we do not suffer.

Jesus took bread and blessed it when he fed the five thousand, served the Last Supper to his disciples, and served the travelers on the road to Emmaus. But that bread was worthless until it was broken. The bread could not be given until it was broken.

The same thing is true in Jesus’ life. Salvation became possible for you and me when Jesus was broken on the cross.

The brokenness we experience is sometimes a physical brokenness. We live in a world filled with poverty and sickness. However, most people experience an internal brokenness—the pain of a broken heart. We have experienced the death of our loved ones, the death of our dreams, the brokenness of sin, and the brokenness of relationships—husband and wife, parents and children, friends, and colleagues.

We have been chosen by God. Each person has unique gifts, unique talents, and unique brokenness. No one has ever experienced the same life you are living today, and no one will live your life in the future. And God has chosen to use broken people like you and me. We were not chosen because we are perfect. We were chosen because we are broken.

Given

It was not enough for Jesus to take the bread, to bless the bread and to break the bread. Jesus had to give the bread for it to accomplish its purpose. Everything had been leading up to this moment.

In the same way, this is God’s purpose for your life. You and I have been chosen by God so that we could be given to the world.

The world we live in is preoccupied with having and not with giving. But I’ve never met anyone who was truly happy because of what they have. True happiness and joy are the result of giving. And when we give ourselves, God performs a miracle. There are always leftovers.



[1] These four qualities are described in detail in Henri J.M. Nouwen’s book Life of the Beloved: Spiritual Living in a Secular World (New York: The Crossroad Publishing Company, 1992).

Sunday, July 17, 2011

It's Not Supposed to Hurt

It’s Not Supposed to hurt

John 12: 1 – 11.

Introduction.

Do you ever get notices in the mail informing you that you have just won a multi-million dollar prize? If you read the fine print, you will discover that you haven’t actually won the prize. They are tempting you by giving you a taste of what MIGHT happen if you actually win…

In 1997, the national media carried a story about a “winner” of the American Family Publishers Sweepstakes. The announcement came in the form of a letter in the mailbox of the Bushnell Assembly of God in Bushnell, Florida.

The outside of the envelope read, “God, you have just been named one of the finalists for the $11 Million Grand Prize.”

The message on the inside was even better. It read, “God, we have been looking for you. … Imagine how surprised the neighbors will be when they discover that God has won the $11 Million prize.”[1] (I’m just surprised to learn that God receives his mail in Florida!)

There are several things about that story which make it humorous. First, it is funny to think of someone writing a letter that began, “God, we’ve been looking for you.” Second, it’s funny to think about God winning a contest. If God were in contests like this one, it seems that he would win every time…After all, no one can beat God. Third, it’s funny to think about God falling for such a materialistic marketing strategy. A strategy that is so obviously geared to capture our attention by appealing to our insatiable lust for more money. Ultimately, this is a funny story, because it contradicts our Christian view of money.

There is a big difference between the Christian view of money and the worldly view of money. In the world’s view, money is something people earn because of their abilities. People who are smart make a lot of money. People who are better at what they do than other people, make a lot of money. This money belongs to me, because I earned it by being smart and good. The Christian view of money is different. Money comes to us as a gift or blessing from God. Since my money is a blessing from God, I really can’t claim it as my own. God blessed me with financial resources, so that I can be a blessing to others.

For the past 15 years, I have been hearing reports of an impending crisis for the churches in the United States of America. Pastors, seminary professors and church growth consultants have been warning us to get ready for the coming crisis. I don’t think that crisis is coming anymore…I think it is here.

In 1945, World War 2 ended. All of our young men returned from service over seas. They got married, built houses, started families, and joined churches. Since the early 1950’s, the men and women of the WW2 generation have supported their churches with their leadership and their financial giving. The Baby Boomers, Generation X (my generation) and the Millennial Generation have not been as faithful in supporting their churches. And now we are witnessing the death of the WW2 generation. Who will support the churches today and in the future? I once heard it estimated (no citation) that it takes five people to replace the financial giving of just one person from the WW2 generation.

Let’s take a look at our current financial situation at Lufkin’s First Baptist Church. We are not accustomed to having a budget deficit at the end of the year. But that is exactly what happened in 2010. We finished the year with a budget shortfall for the first time in probably 20 years. In 2011, we are running a real deficit (expenses over income) of approximately $15,000 per MONTH. The month of June was our worst month of the year. We had a real deficit of $20,000. More than likely, we will finish 2011 with another deficit. (Add to that the fact that we have had 17 funerals in the first six months of this year, and I think we can safely assume the crisis is here.)

If the crisis is here, we need to decide how we will respond.

First, we could just cover our eyes and pretend that there is no problem. Honestly, that’s what I think we have been doing for the past 15 years. But ignoring a problem never makes it go away.

Second, we could encourage more people to give to our endowment funds. An endowment is a gift to a church that is invested…The church receives annual proceeds from the fund, but the church never touches the principal. It is reinvested every year so that it continually blesses the church with interest payments. Did you know that we have a little over $1.5 Million invested with the Texas Baptist Foundation? We receive approximately $50,000 annually from this investment. If you want to insure the future of our church, you can make a gift to this foundation or you can contribute through your will. If the church is not in your will, please consider adding the church. Even if you can’t give $1 Million or $500,000, any amount will make a difference for the future of our church.

The third option is the most responsible and most spiritual answer. We must teach every generation to give to the church. Specifically, we must teach tithing.

If Jesus spent part of his time preaching about money, then guess what… It’s not supposed to hurt.

It is like when we experience unusual pain somewhere in our bodies…Stomach pain…Headache…Knee problems… We go to the doctor to get help, because It’s not supposed to hurt. The pain is a symptom that something needs to change. The doctor gives us medicine or performs surgery so that the pain will go away.

We can say the same thing about money. If it hurts to hear a sermon on money and giving money to the church, then something needs to change in your life. Because… It’s not supposed to hurt.

Read John 12: 1 – 11

1 Six days before the Passover, Jesus arrived at Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead.

2 Here a dinner was given in Jesus' honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him.

3 Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus' feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.

4 But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected,

5 "Why wasn't this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year's wages."

6 He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.

7 "Leave her alone," Jesus replied. "It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial.

8 You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me."

9 Meanwhile a large crowd of Jews found out that Jesus was there and came, not only because of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead.

10 So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well,

11 for on account of him many of the Jews were going over to Jesus and putting their faith in him.

(NIV)


This story happened at a time when the Jewish authorities were trying to kill Jesus. The leaders of the Jews were fed up with Jesus, because he challenged their religious and political authority. And more and more people began to follow Jesus as his disciples. Especially after what happened in John 11…Jesus performed one of his greatest miracles by raising Lazarus from the dead. When this happened, people began to flock to Jesus. I think this is one of the most humorous verses in Scripture that we read this morning…Since raising Lazarus from the dead led more people to become followers of Jesus, the Jews decided that they needed to kill both Jesus and Lazarus…Like Jesus couldn’t do it one more time.

One theme that runs throughout the Gospel of John is the theme of time. Jesus was in control of time, and did not do things until it was the right time. He would not perform his first miracle in John 2 until it was the right time. The people tried to stone Jesus and kill him but did not, because it was not yet his time. The same thing was happening here in John 12. The authorities wanted Jesus dead, but it was not yet time. Instead, it was time for Jesus to relax and enjoy a meal in the home of his friends Lazarus, Mary and Martha.

While at this dinner, something unusual happened. Mary anointed Jesus’ feet.

This wouldn’t have been so strange if Mary had anointed Jesus’ head. The head is the place of honor and dignity. To anoint someone’s head indicated that person was royalty or had a special place of service in God’s eyes.

The feet, on the other hand, this is the place of dishonor, filth, even uncleanness. Remember the story of the disciples at the Last Supper? Before they could eat the Passover meal together, they had to wash their feet. And the disciples refused to wash each other’s feet because it was dirty, unclean and it was demeaning. To attend the feet of another person was the job of the lowest slave in the household.

When Mary anointed Jesus’ feet, she demonstrated great devotion to Jesus. She submitted herself as a servant of Jesus. And Mary ultimately demonstrated an act of worship.

Give Financially.

The story began by mentioning Martha…She was in the kitchen finishing up the meal preparations. She was mentioned first, because she was the hostess. It is always the case that the hostess of the party is the one who has to work while the guests & rest of the family are visiting & enjoying themselves.

Of course this is not our first time to see Martha in action. This was what she did best, she was a good worker. She liked to host parties and serve other people. In Luke 10, Jesus attended another dinner at Martha’s house. You remember the story. Martha was in the kitchen finishing the meal. Mary found a place to sit at Jesus’ feet and listen as he taught. Of course, this was more than Martha could take. She told Jesus about her frustrations with Mary. She is just sitting there letting me do all the work. Jesus didn’t take Martha’s side. He defended her, saying “She has chosen a good thing which can never be taken away from her.”

In both stories about Mary & Martha, we learn something about work. Work is good, especially when it is done for someone else. God wants us to serve others…But it is never enough by itself.

In Luke 10, we have observed that learning from Jesus and applying his teachings to our lives are important. They should not be neglected, even if replaced by good works. In John 12, we observe that giving financially is also important…And should not be replaced by good works.

In our society, money is our supreme god. People will do almost anything for the “almighty dollar.” That is why Jesus has asked that we do more than just serve him. If all your commitment can be summed up in a short amount of time every week by coming to church, teaching Sunday School, or serving in some other way, then you can still hold onto the most important thing in our society. Jesus wants you to commit more than just a few hours every week.

I think this is why our money is printed with the motto, “In God we trust.” It is a reminder that we don’t worship money. At least we shouldn’t worship money.

Mary serves as an example for us, as she gave a financial offering to Jesus. She was willing to work for Jesus and serve him. She was willing to sit at his feet and listen as he taught her. And she was willing to give away a portion of the money she had worked hard to earn.

When we give to the church Financially we say something that the world thinks is strange. We say, “God, the world thinks that money is the most important thing in a person’s life. But I believe that my commitment to you is more important than even money.” Giving financially says, “In God we trust…Not Money.”

Give Sacrificially.

I want you to notice something about this story that might take a little digging for us to discover. Mary didn’t just give a financial gift to Jesus. Mary gave something that was a GREAT SACRIFICE.

The perfume that she poured over Jesus’ feet was very valuable. It was worth 300 Denarii. 300 Denarii may not mean a lot to you, but it was a lot of money at that time. One Denarius was the usual wage given to the common worker in payment for one day’s work. The average worker worked 6 days a week for 50 weeks a year. If you multiply that out—6 days times 50 weeks—you will discover that the average worker earned 300 Denarii per year.

In other words, Mary gave Jesus the equivalent of one year’s wages. In today’s monetary equivalents, it would be like Mary’s giving Jesus about $20,000.

Now I do not profess to know anything about perfume. But I wonder, what could make a bottle of perfume that valuable.

It may have been imported from a far away country. After all, the only other known reference to the word “nard” is a plant that was grown in India. If this was so, this wasn’t a very common perfume and people would pay more for it. It may have been a family heirloom. It had been passed down from generation to generation, and now belonged to Mary.

Or it may have been an investment. Mary had taken her savings and rather than putting it in the bank, bought something that would retain its value over time. So she could sell it and make back her money when she needed it…Her retirement plan.

It doesn’t really matter what made the perfume valuable. It’s just important for us to notice that Mary took something of great value and gave it as a sacrifice to Jesus.

There is a modern day story that reminds me of Mary’s sacrificial giving. A washwoman from Hattiesburg, MS named Oseola McCarty came into the national spotlight when she donated $150,000 to the University of Southern Mississippi to establish a scholarship. Gifts of this size are given almost daily to colleges & universities all over the country, but this gift was unusual. It was unusual because it was 60% of her life savings.

When Ms. McCarty was in 6th grade, her aunt was hospitalized and could no longer walk. So, she dropped out of school and abandoned her dream to one day become a nurse just to care for her aunt. After her aunt died, Ms. McCarty began washing and ironing for Hattiesburg families, all the while putting a couple of dollars at a time into a savings account. She worked and saved until her arthritis forced her to retire at the age of 86. That’s when she discovered that she had accumulated more than she thought she needed. So she kept what she thought was more than she could ever need, $100,000. And gave the rest to USM.

When questioned about her generosity, Ms. McCarty responded, “I just want the scholarship to go to some child who needs it, to whoever is not able to help their children. I’m too old to get an education, but they can. I can’t do everything, but I can do something to help somebody. And what I can do, I will do. I wish I could do more.”[2]

You can do something too. You can’t do everything. But you can give sacrificially to the Kingdom of God. When we give to the church Sacrificially, again, we say something that sounds strange to the world. We say, “God, I want to express my commitment in a way that shows you I can live without things in this world. No price is too high for me to pay.”

Give Worshipfully.

There is one thing that separates Ms. McCarty’s gift to USM and Mary’s gift to Jesus. She gave Financially…She gave Sacrificially…But her gift was not a gift of worship.

It was Mary’s love for Jesus that compelled her to do this. Her love was Extravagant…She gave what was most precious…Love does not calculate the cost in advance. Her love was Humble…She anointed Jesus’ feet, a job reserved for the lowest among the slaves. Her love did not Make Sense…Judas saw Mary’s gift as an “utter waste.” Worship NEVER makes sense to the world.

I say that Mary was worshipping, because Mary had a reason to worship! This story took place in Bethany, the place where Jesus had raised her brother Lazarus from the dead. Jesus had given Mary a good gift: Her brother’s life back. Mary was simply responding to Jesus’ good gift by giving her own good gift. NO PRICE WAS TOO HIGH for her Lord!

Conclusion.

Mary is our example for giving to the Kingdom of God. We are to give Financially. We are to give Sacrificially. And we are to give Worshipfully.

When we give to the church Worshipfully, we say something that sounds strange to the world. We say, “God, my giving is an expression of my love for you.”

We should think of our giving as if it were Valentine’s Day…Imagine that it is Valentine’s Day and I have planned all day to bring flowers to Shauna. I stand there with my hand behind my back…I pull out the flowers and say to her, “Well, it’s Valentine’s Day. I had to buy these. It was my duty as your husband.” How will she respond to that?

What if I say, “I love you, and I bought these for you because I love you, and I would do anything to show my love for you.”

How will God react if you and I place our envelopes in the offering plate saying, “God, here is my tithe. I don’t really want to give you 10% of my income, but I will because it is my duty.”

In the same way, Mary teaches us that when we give Financially, Sacrificially and WorshipfullyIt’s not supposed to hurt!

Sunday, July 10, 2011

Sowing Seeds

Sowing Seeds

Mark 4: 1 – 20.

Introduction.

A couple of months ago, I preached a sermon that I thought was a bad sermon. Of course, some of you are thinking, “There’s nothing new about that, Preacher.” And I guess you would be right about that. After all, I typically preach 48 Sunday mornings every year. And anytime you preach 48 times a year, there is bound to be at least one (or 24…or even 44) bad sermons in any given year.

This particular bad sermon was different. I actually told you that I thought it was a bad sermon. (Most of the time, I try to keep it to myself.)

When I told you I thought it was a bad sermon, I was able to see something miraculous take place. Many of you met me at the door and told me, “I didn’t think it was a bad sermon;” or, “You told us exactly what we needed to hear.”

I suppose I could have interpreted all of your comments as your way of being nice to me. We live in East Texas, and East Texans are probably the nicest people in the state of Texas. East Texans will find the one nice thing to say and usually leave all the not-so-nice things unsaid. But there is nothing miraculous about East Texans being nice.

Instead, I prefer to interpret your comments as a miracle. I felt bad about the sermon, but that didn’t prevent God from using me. That is a miracle. It is a miracle that God can and does use me. I’m not a perfect person. But, God can take all of my imperfections and still use me to accomplish what God wants to do.

That gets me to thinking about the way God works when I preach. On any given Sunday, there are at least two different responses to my sermons. Some people “get it.” Other people don’t “get it.” There is a part of me that likes to think people “get it” when I put forth my very best effort. When I tell funny stories…When I am very clear in my logic…When I discover something wholly unique about a particular passage of Scripture… But that is not the case. Your response to the sermon is bigger than me and my abilities to communicate. Sometimes the most effective sermon is the sermon delivered poorly. It is effective, because God uses it to speak to your life. It is more about God than it is about me.

Perhaps I could learn a thing or two from Jesus. After all, Jesus was a preacher. In fact, Jesus was a very famous preacher.

The Gospel of Mark tells us that when Jesus began his ministry by teaching and preaching about the Kingdom of God, people started getting excited. Word spread about Jesus throughout the countryside. People gathered from all the little towns and villages around the Lake of Galilee to hear Jesus preach. There were even people who traveled from far away places like Jerusalem and Tyre and Sidon. One day, the crowd was so large that Jesus had to commandeer a boat and float a little ways out in the Lake to preach to the crowds gathered on the banks of the Lake.

Read Mark 4: 1 – 9.

1 Again Jesus began to teach by the lake. The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it out on the lake, while all the people were along the shore at the water's edge.

2 He taught them many things by parables, and in his teaching said:

3 "Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed.

4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up.

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.

7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain.

8 Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, multiplying thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times."

9 Then Jesus said, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."

(NIV)


I suppose it is possible that Jesus floated out into the Lake and noticed a farmer sowing seed out in the distance. Jesus could have directed the crowd’s attention to the farmer and used him as a visual aid.

A farmer went out to sow seeds. He didn’t have a tractor. He didn’t even have a garden hoe. All he had was a sack of seeds slung over his shoulder. The farmer reached into his sack of seeds, pulled out a handful of seeds and scattered the seeds across the ground. Then, he took out another handful of seeds and scattered them.

By scattering the seeds, the farmer didn’t have a whole lot of control over where the seeds landed. Some of the seeds landed on the road.

This was not an asphalt road like we think of. But, it was probably just as hard. People are creatures of habit and usually walk the same pathways over and over. As people walked along the same pathways over and over, the grass would get worn away, and the dirt would become packed down as hard as asphalt. Seed couldn’t grow in this dirt, because it just bounced off the hard surface. The birds would come and eat the seed.

Other seeds fell in the rocky places. These were the mountainous rocks covered by a thin layer of sandy dirt. These seeds could take root in the thin sand, but they couldn’t get the nourishment they needed to grow and thrive. They quickly withered in the hot sun.

Some seed fell in good soil. This soil had all the nutrients the seeds needed to put down roots and grow. But the problem was that there was already something growing in this good soil—thorns and weeds. So the seeds couldn’t grow…There was too much competition.

And finally, there were seeds that landed in good soil with no competition from thorns and weeds. The seeds put down roots and grew to maturity. The mature plants produced a crop—thirty-fold crop, sixty-fold crop, one hundred-fold crop.

Jesus said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

And that was it. The sermon was over. Jesus rowed the boat back onto the shore and dismissed the crowd. There was no invitation. There was no benediction prayer. The crowd didn’t sing a closing song. What kind of sermon was that?

I’m sure that’s what the crowd thought about Jesus’ sermon as well. Just imagine the people who had traveled a day’s journey to hear this new rabbi.

I can imagine a man getting home late at night, just in time for supper. While he and his wife ate supper, she asked him what he thought about the new rabbi. He replied that Jesus really didn’t say anything new or noteworthy. It was a story about planting seeds. Some seeds grow and some seeds don’t grow. Anybody who has ever lived on a farm already knows this. He didn’t really get anything out of Jesus’ sermon.

I can imagine another man who lived in a nearby village. He got home early in the afternoon and gathered with his friends. They asked him about the new rabbi. He told them that he thought Jesus was speaking about conservation. If a farmer scatters seed on bad soil, he can’t expect to get a bumper crop. But, if a farmer makes wise decisions with his seeds and only scatters it in good soil, he will waste less seed and grow more crops. It was a good lesson but didn’t really apply to this man’s life work.[1]

However, the disciples were a different story. Of course, they didn’t understand Jesus’ sermon either. The difference was that they wanted to understand what Jesus was saying, so they asked him.

Read Mark 4: 10 – 20.

10 When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables.

11 He told them, "The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables

12 so that, "'they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!'"

13 Then Jesus said to them, "Don't you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable?

14 The farmer sows the word.

15 Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them.

16 Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy.

17 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.

18 Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word;

19 but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.

20 Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop-- thirty, sixty or even a hundred times what was sown."

(NIV)


In explaining the parable to his disciples, Jesus really taught them two lessons. He taught them about the nature of parables and the meaning of this particular parable.

The Nature of Parables.

This was not a story about farmers, how to scatter seeds, or even how to grow better crops. It is a parable about people. The soil represents people. The seed represents the Word of God. Some people are hardened like concrete and cannot receive the Word of God. Some people are receptive to the Word. The Word grows in them, and they produce fruit.

Yet Jesus did not teach this in a direct way. He used a parable so that the crowd would be divided. Some of the crowd “got it.” Most of the crowd didn’t “get it.”

Jesus defended his indirect teaching methods by appealing to a passage from Isaiah 6. The disciples would have been very familiar with the story of Isaiah and of Isaiah’s call to preach the Word of God.

Isaiah was in the Temple one week when the presence of God showed up. Isaiah was given a vision of God—high and lifted up, God’s royal robes filling the Temple, the smoke from the altar overwhelming Isaiah’s senses. Isaiah confessed his sins. God cleansed him from his sins. Then, Isaiah was so excited about what God was doing in his own life that he volunteered to go and tell the people of Israel about the cleansing power of God.

Isaiah’s call came with a warning. Not everyone who hears the Word of God will respond by repentance and salvation. Not everyone wants their sins to be forgiven by God. Some people will see but not see. They will hear but not understand. Not everyone will “get it.” But that is no excuse for Isaiah. God has warned him of the way people will respond. Isaiah’s job is to keep preaching God’s Word faithfully.

In the same way, Jesus teaches in parables. He knows that some people will “get it,” but most will not “get it.”

Our English word “parable” is basically the same as the Greek word “parabole.” It comes from two Greek words: “para,” which is the root of our word parallel and means “along side;” and the Greek verb “balo,” which is the root of our word ball and mean “to throw.” In this sense, a parable is “something thrown along side.”

A parable is not a form of direct teaching. It is an indirect method of telling a story or making an analogy that stands just along side the truth.

A couple of my favorite modern-day parables: Even a blind hog can sometimes find an acorn; Don’t fight with a skunk, because in the end both of you will smell like a skunk—and the skunk likes it.

The truth of these modern-day parables is not that they describe hogs and skunks (even though they do). The truth is the way they can be applied to human nature. But the application is made by the hearer and not by the speaker.

That is the way it is with the parables of Jesus and with the Word of God in general. No matter how clearly the Word of God is presented…Some people will “get it”…While other people will not “get it.”

Good and Bad Soil.

Jesus interprets the parable for his disciples by telling them it is a story about people and the Word of God. The seed represents the Word of God. The four different types of soil represent four different types of people.

Some people are like the hard soil. They hear the Gospel. They hear the teachings of Jesus. They hear the commandments and the ethical instructions in the Bible. But, everything just bounces off them. They are thick-skulled. They are hard-hearted. The Word of God cannot penetrate their outer shells.

Some people are shallow. When they first hear the Gospel, they respond with joy and excitement! They are more than likely looking for a quick and easy fix for their lives. They want the promise of Heaven and a life of wealth and ease on earth. If the Gospel can promise them an easy life, they will accept it. If the Gospel brings pain and suffering, well…that’s another story. They don’t want to think about the Christian life as a journey of faith. They don’t want to grow in discipleship.

Some people are like the soil where thorns and weeds grow. They are good soil for the Gospel, but they are also good soil for anything else that gets taught in the world. The Gospel can grow in their lives, but it is often forced out by competition. Just as the weeds and thorns choke out the seed, the worries of the world choke out the Gospel. These people are so distracted by their personal wealth, the day-to-day struggles of their jobs, their family vacations or family entertainment and sports that the Gospel gets choked out. Or maybe the Gospel is planted in their lives, but the commandments and ethical teachings of the Bible are choked out. They don’t live out the faith they profess on Sunday mornings…or the faith they profess on the Sundays they actually come to church.

I think it is worth noting here that God did not make the soil hard, shallow or easily overcome by competition. The hard soil was good soil at one time. It became hardened as other people walked on it and packed it down as hard as asphalt. The shallow soil could be good soil if it were not for the outside influence of the rocks. The soil overcome with thorns and weeds would be great soil for the Word of God…

Soil cannot change its own nature. But people like you and I can. Do we allow the circumstances of life and the people around us harden us to the Gospel and the Word of God? Do we allow the rocky times in life to make us shallow? Are we so receptive to the influences of the world that we leave no room for God to speak into our lives?

I think one way to interpret this parable is to consider the expectations you bring with you to church, and the expectations you have for the Word of God. I have discovered that God meets and often exceeds our expectations.

What did you expect to happen at church today? Perhaps you expected to hear the preacher say something that offended you so that you could get on the phone or email to complain to your friends. Perhaps you expected the music to be too loud and contemporary or too slow and traditional. Perhaps you came to church expecting nothing… Or did you come to church expecting to hear a word from God?

If you want to come to church and leave unaffected…Don’t worry. That’s exactly what you will get…Nothing.

But, if you come to church expecting something… Hold on. That is exactly what you will get. You can have as much of God in your life as you want. Your life can be changed by the Word of God and the Presence of God. All you have to do is approach God with an expectation that he will do something in your life. You might not get to decide what God will do in your life. But you do get to decide whether or not you are ready to receive God’s Word and God’s plan for your life.

Conclusion.

I think there is one more lesson to learn from this parable. Jesus told us that the seed represents the Word of God. Jesus told us that the soil represents four different types of people. But, Jesus did NOT tell us who or what the sower represents.

The Greeks of Jesus’ day were very familiar with the image of the sower as representing a teacher. The teacher sows knowledge, and the students are the soil which receives the seed.

But, that is not what the Jews thought. The Old Testament uses the image of the sower to represent God. God sows his Word, and God’s people are the soil which receives the seed. Perhaps we should recognize Jesus as the sower.

If Jesus is the sower, then it would not be difficult to apply the work of sowing seeds to the work of the church. That is not to say we are equal to Jesus. But, it is to say the church does the work of Jesus until Jesus returns.

It is our job to sow seeds of the Gospel and the seeds of God’s Word. We don’t get to prejudge the soil and decide where to sow and where not to sow. We are to scatter God’s Word indiscriminately…Good soil…Bad soil…Everywhere we go…Everything we do…

It is not our job to grow the seeds of God’s Word. Only God can bring success. It is our job to be faithful in sowing God’s Word.


[1] These two characters and the idea for this sermon come from a sermon preached by Haddon Robinson at the Fourteenth Annual Samford Pastors’ School, 2001.