Sermon Tone Analysis

Welcome!

Turn with me to Matthew 13.

We are going to be looking at this chapter today.

Matthew 13 gives us an interesting concept taught my Jesus… that I think we often miss…

You see, we often break it apart… looking just at the parables individually…

Honestly… How many of you have read it as one section, considering how the parables tie together?

We miss something when we “pick it apart”…

Scripture… especially this chapter of Matthew’s gospel… is meant to be read as one cohesive piece… So that’s what we are going to do today.

Look at Matthew 13:1-52

Did you “see” what Jesus is trying to teach them here?

Jesus is talking to them about the Kingdom of God… about what it is like… how it functions… and how WE are supposed to function within it!

Let’s break it down just a bit:

The parable of the Sower explained:

I’m not going to spend a lot of time on this part here… we’re going to come back to it.

But… at a quick glance, it’s easy to see that Jesus is saying that our hearts must be prepared to received God’s Word.

The Parable of weeds

The owner of the field allows the weeds to grow up among the wheat… What does that tell us?

— It is not our responsibility to determine the “belief” of others… or to condemn and remove “sinners” from among us… That is God’s problem!

— It is our place to Love and Grow in Him, among them.

The Parable of the Mustard Seed

In another place Jesus said that if we “had the faith of a mustard seed...”

— Here He says “Our Faith will reach a multitude” — that’s about our testimony!

— Our Faith will yield a testimony to the world that will provide spiritual shelter for many.

The Parable of Yeast

Yeast does not make bread rise if it is not infused into ALL of the dough…

In the same way, Our Faith… the Faith and Love of Christians… is meant to infuse and empower the world to change!

The Hidden Treasure and the Pearl

Let me tell you: Jesus’s point isn’t about the field.

The field isn’t the treasure… the Pearl is!!!

The point is: “Are we ALL IN for God?”

Have we “sold everything” to buy the Kingdom?

Do you see what Jesus is doing here?

This whole passage… from verse 1- verse 52… is Jesus tell the disciples… telling us… how we are supposed to live and act, within the Kingdom…

Believers are not supposed to separate themselves from the world and be isolationists.

Nor are we supposed to “Judge” the world and condemn “sinners”…

We are supposed to “grow up” among them… to infuse the world with the light we have been given…

By living a life “Filled with Faith!”

(A Faith-Filled Life is a Life of Complete and Total Trust in God.)

… a life of complete and total trust in God!

We are supposed to buy the field!!!

Look at John 15:19

God CHOSE US “out of” the world, BUT… He didn’t TAKE us OUT OF it!

We are supposed to “sell everything” to “buy the Field” and Live for Him!

So what does that mean?

How do we do that?

Where do we start?

(I’m glad you asked!)

Psalm 1:3 (NIV)

3 That person (the Faith-Filled believer) is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither— whatever they do prospers.

In order for a seed to grow… it must first be planted.

The soil must be good… it must have the right nutrients… the right amount of water… the right environment…

Hence, the Parable of the Sower.

In this parable, Jesus gives us 4 scenarios of seed being spread…

The seed is the Word… the Gospel… the Good News shared with others…

The soil is the heart of the person…

Have you ever noticed that when you share the Word, sometimes it falls on deaf ears?

That sometimes it seems that no matter how well you love someone… no matter how well you explain something… they just don’t get it!

It’s like they just refuse… or worse… they seem to get it, but quickly let it go…

Jesus makes it clear — The problem isn’t the seed!

The problem is with what type of soil it falls on!

4 types of soil are described here:

The Hardened or Oblivious Heart.

There are some people who are absolutely opposed to the Good News, for whatever reason… and there are others who are just oblivious to it…

They hear the Word… they might even come to church regularly… but, for some reason, their hearts just reject it.

It’s like their hearts are hostile towards it… It may be that they are stuck in their personal beliefs and anything that asks them to step outside of those… to consider another view… is unacceptable!

Let me tell you: “Seed will not grow in inhospitable soil!”

The enemy will come and snatch it away… because he doesn’t want it to grow!

This kind of soil will never reproduce because it cannot produce!

A hardened and oblivious heart is a barren wasteland!

2. The Troubled Heart.

Life is a long, and at times, difficult journey!

A heart that is troubled by the obstacles and adversities of life… will fail to produce deep roots.

We all know people like this… we may even be here, or have been here ourselves… They have an interest in the Gospel… They want to know Jesus… to experience Him… to Trust Him…

They even seem to embrace the Gospel in the beginning, but…

Over time, because they failed to tend the seed… when the trials and tribulations of life hit them… when the tough times come… they fall away… (expound)

Just like with plants, shallow roots will not sustain a person through the adverse and difficult seasons of life.

Illustration — “Breathing Forest” in Quebec

It takes deep strong roots growing in healthy soil to weather the storm!

A Troubled Heart Produces Shallow Roots.

3. The Distracted Heart.

A distracted heart cannot grow roots.

Plain and simple… A heart that cares more for the things of the world than for the things of the Kingdom… is not the healthy soil that produces Kingdom growth!

Money, status, popularity, and other worldly endeavors choke out the ability of the seed to get the nutrients it needs and grow roots.

Have you ever noticed that grass doesn’t seem to grow under trees?

— the tree roots take all the nutrients, so the grass can’t grow…

It’s the same with our hearts!

When we start focusing on money… on finances… on works… on popularity… our hearts become unhealthy and distracted…

An unhealthy and distracted heart is not the place for seed to grow… and it’s definitely not the place that creates a harvest!

That’s why Jesus said:

A distracted heart will make excuses rather than act, and soon the “thorns” will “choke out” the life that we have gained.

A distracted heart bears no fruit.

4. The Fertile Heart.

A Fertile heart readily accepts the Gospel… It nurtures growth and Faith…

It welcomes the Truth of God’s Word, even if that means letting go of long held beliefs… and embraces the change it brings!

A fertile heart is made ready by the prompting of the Holy Spirit… and (now hear this)… THE PARTICIPATION of the individual.

Healthy soil doesn’t just HEAR the Word of God… It does what it says!!!! (James 1:22)

Healthy soil is where seeds have the most opportunity to grow into life giving plants, trees, …

Think about it… a single apple tree can bear enough fruit to feed dozens of people… It gives shade and rest on hot days… It’s flowers nourish thousands of bees every spring… and It’s seed can spread and multiply into an immeasurable amount of other trees over its lifetime…

The same is true with us…

A fertile heart carries the Word of God… the Life He gives… into every part of this world it encounters!