Parables: Part 7 | The Parable of the Farmer Scattering Seed | Pastor Brian Preston

Thanks for watching. Well, good morning, Battle Creek. We haven't had a chance to meet yet. My name is Brian and I get the incredible privilege of being able to help lead our Next Gen Ministries, everything from birth to kids to students to young adults. And even this weekend, we had two teams return from the mission field from both Colorado. I see some people over here and El Salvador. I see some people over here. And so where our students were sharing the gospel through their investment, they were able to help people experience a brand new day in Jesus. And that's what I love about our pastor and what he's called us to as a church to be a part of. One day really can change every day. As you saw in the video, the goal is simple. Take one day's wage from your income. So let's just take the medium household income, $65,000, divide that by $365, and you would look to give $178 during one of our Easter services. That gift would help provide meals for children in need around the globe. And I thought it would be fun to bring my own kids into the conversation. We were talking about this over dinner the other night about this one day give and what it means and what our family could do to participate. Now, you got to know my kids are 11, which means they don't have jobs yet, though. I've made it very clear. I'm open for that to change, but I still want them to feel

like they were a part of the conversation. So we were talking about it, talking about what sacrifice could look like for our family. I told them maybe they could give something from their savings that they're saving up. Maybe we could skip a meal out together and give that money instead and we eat at home with like ramen or peanut butter sandwiches or something and give that money towards the give. And my son sat there for a minute. Then he finally said this, Dad, I'll give $38. I said, whoa, well, that's generous, buddy. But I have a question. Why specifically $38? And without missing a beat, he said, so we can send him Chick-fil-A. He had already done the math. $38 is what it costs our family to eat Chick-fil-A altogether. I know, it's pretty awesome. And I think it's pretty good logic too, but I loved even more the heart behind it. And honestly, that's what I love about our church. Not just that we want to make a massive impact by helping kids around the globe, but then also discipling the next generation of kids to care about it too, to think beyond themselves and to believe that one day can change every day. Let's pray together and then we'll get started. God, I praise you that we have the opportunity this morning to open up your word and to hear from you. God, thank you for the truth that you can in a moment, in a day, change everything. Thank you for the transformational power of the gospel.

Thank you, Jesus, for coming and making a way to help us to take hold of what it looks like, to see every day changed. God, I pray that as we jump into your word, that it would come alive for someone today in a fresh way. That God, I pray that your word would speak to us, that we would be open, receptive to what it is that you want to share. God, remove anything of me and allow you to be centerfold today. We pray this in Jesus' name and everybody said, amen. Today, we're wrapping up our series on the parables, and I think it's fitting that we're finishing with one of the most important parables that Jesus told, because this parable really kind of helps explain all the others. In many ways, it's like the master parable, and I'll say it speaks to Pastor Alex's character. He, as Master Yoda, would allow me to share from the Master Parable today. But I do appreciate him in allowing me the opportunity to share with you today, and he is an amazing leader. Back to the Master Parable. This story doesn't just explain this story. It explains why Jesus told stories to begin with. Throughout this series, we've said that parables were meant to grab your attention. They were dramatic, they were exaggerated, sometimes even shocking. And Jesus would use these word pictures that would make people stop and think. But here's the thing. Not everyone understood the deeper meaning.

The crowds would often walk away puzzled and confused. Even the disciples didn't always understand it. Here's what I mean. Matthew chapter 13, the disciples asked him directly, why do you use parables when you talk to the people? And Jesus responds with something that sounds strange at first. Check this out. He replied, you are permitted to understand the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but others are not. Now, at first glance, this sounds like a terrible evangelism strategy. So it begs the question, why would Jesus intentionally say things that people don't understand? But Jesus wasn't talking about the complexity of the message. He was talking about the condition of the heart. Look at verse 12. To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given. But for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them. There's a big difference between hearing something and actually listening, right? And every married person in the room said, amen, right? Listen, my wife can say something to me and I can hear every single word she says. But as someone with ADD, if I'm not actively listening,

if my heart isn't tuned in, then those words are probably gonna bounce right off me, I'll be honest. And maybe you've had this before. Your spouse has told you, hey, I told you about this yesterday. No, you didn't. Yes, yes, I did, right? Do you remember the old like progressive instant replay commercials? Throw the flag on the play. I'm gonna challenge that. Honey, you did not say that. And after the replay, the review, the ruling on the field is, yes, yes, you did say that, right? Like you heard it, but you didn't actually listen to it. And Jesus says the same thing happens to us spiritually. Some people hear truth, but they're not actually open to receiving it. And that leads us into this parable today. Let's see how Jesus puts this all together. Look with me at verse three. Listen, a farmer went out to plant some seeds. And as he scattered them across his field, some seeds fell on a footpath and the birds came and ate them. Now, here's what you gotta see. A farmer went out to scatter seed. There's three elements in this story that exist.

You could write these down. The farmer, the seed, and the soil. And Jesus later explains exactly what each one represents. Now, I'm gonna go ahead and spoil it for you. The farmer represents us, people who follow Jesus, people who share the message. The seed represents the gospel, the good news of Jesus. And the soil represents those that are lost. And Pastor Alex has taught us this before. Lost simply means you're not where you're supposed to be yet. They're supposed to be in the family of God, but they're not there. And the gospel is how they get there. So it's our responsibility to throw seed, to spread it so that the lost hear it and get saved. It's really that simple. Think of a farmer just tossing seed out everywhere, right? Just throwing it. He didn't even care where it landed. Just throw it. That's our job. Look at verse five. Other seeds fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The seeds sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow, but the plants soon wilted under the hot sun. And since they didn't have deep roots, they died. Look at the third soil. Other seeds fell among thorns that grew up and choked out the tender plants.

Still other seeds fell on fertile soil, good soil, good soil. And they produced a crop that was 30, 60, even a hundred times as much as had been planted. Now to help you actively listen this morning, you should take notes. And I'm gonna give you four truths that you can write down and take away from this parable today, all right? Number one. The gospel. The gospel is powerful, the gospel is powerful. Jesus says the harvest would be 30, 60, even 100 times what was planted. Let me just pause for just a second. I wanna make something really clear. I know you're looking at me. I'm not a farmer, shocking, I know. Like, do you see these hands? Princess hands, right? If you're not a farmer like me, or you weren't born 2,000 years ago, those numbers probably don't mean much to you. So I'm gonna help you out today. I did some sermon prepping in the Farmer's Almanac this week, all right? And even today, with modern farming technology, with engineered seeds, advanced irrigation, all of that, a strong harvest might produce 10 to 30 times what was planted.

That is considered a great return. So when Jesus says a hundredfold, the people listening would have been shook. They would have said, whoa, whoa, whoa, wait, wait, that's impossible. What kind of magic seeds do you have? That's kind of the point. The power was never in the farmer. The power is in the seed. And the seed in this story is the gospel. The message of Jesus carries resurrection power inside of it. It has the power to change hearts. It has the power to restore lives, to restore marriages, to break chains, to rewrite someone's future. It is the most transformational message in the universe, which means something really important for us today. When we talk about sharing Jesus, our responsibility is not to transform people. That's the gospel's job. Our responsibility is much more simple. You ready? Scatter the seed, share the message. That's it. Does every seed that is spread produce a crop? No, according to the parable, only a fourth. The farmer's job was not to produce a crop from every single seed. His job was simply to scatter the seed. So what was Jesus talking about?

Look at verse 19, skip down to verse 19. The seed that fell on the footpath represents those who hear the message about the kingdom. There it is. Those who hear are the soil. And that leads us to our second truth today. The gospel is powerful, but the soil determines the response. Now, Jesus says something really important here. The farmer is us and stays the same. The seed is the gospel and stays the same. The only variable in this thing is the soil. And the soil represents the human heart. Four soils, four responses, right? Hard soil, shallow soil, crowded soil, good soil. Same seed, different soil, different result. Here's what we know. A good seed planted from a good hand on good soil produces a good crop. Is the seed good? Of course it is. It's the gospel. Are you a good planter? If you're scattering seed, absolutely. What determines whether you have a good crop or not is the condition of the soil. So let's look back at the parable and look at these four soils today. The first soil is not even really a soil. It's a footpath, all right?

When we think of a farm or a farmer, we think of probably acres and acres of land, right? In the Middle East, it's probably more comparable to your backyard, a small backyard with a sidewalk for a footpath, right? The seed was scattered out and some fell on the sidewalk and the enemy came and stole it. Look back at verse 19. The seed that fell on the footpath represents those who hear the message about the kingdom and don't understand it. Then the evil one comes and snatches away the seed that was planted in their hearts. Listen, I see this all the time in student ministry. By the way, I love leading Next Gen Ministries at Battle Creek. And one of the key DNA pieces of who we are as a church is that we are unapologetically evangelistic. Like we have a heart to want to reach more people. And in our kids and student ministries, we are consistently building an invest and invite culture where we're giving opportunities for Jesus to transform lives on a weekly basis. So hear that. But I see this near weekly in student ministry where a student hears the gospel, their heart starts to move. You can almost see the moment. But when truth begins to try to break through, right then the enemy gets busy.

Because the enemy is always reactive. Because the enemy knows, the devil knows, if the message of Jesus takes root in your heart, everything changes. It's a strategy, it's real simple. Steal the message, block the gospel. Distract you just long enough to miss your moment. Don't let them. The next soil is the rocky soil. The rocky soil, it produced a crop, it shot up quickly, but it also died just as quickly. Why? Because it didn't have deep roots. So what did it represent? Look with me at verse 20. The seed that fell on rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy. But since they don't have deep roots, they don't last long. They fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God's word. Jesus says this represents someone who receives the message with excitement, but when life gets difficult, their faith fades. James 1 says it like this, when, not if, our faith is tested, it will ultimately produce perseverance. That's the difference with this soil. It wasn't rooted and it didn't endure life's struggles. The third soil, the thorns and the weeds.

I hate weeds, y'all. Now the one, this one hits a little closer home, not just because I hate weeds, but because this isn't about the person who says no to God, and it's not even the person who walks away right away. This is the person who says yes, but then lets everything else in their life get just as loud. Look at verse 22. As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word and it proves unfruitful. The seed falls among thorns, and here's the thing, the plant grew, but the thorns choked it out. Jesus says this represents people who hear God's word, but the worries of life and the pursuit of wealth crowd it out. That word crowd is really important. Hear me, this problem isn't rejection of the word, it's competition. It's the slow build of other priorities in our lives that begin to crowd out what God is trying to grow in you. And here's the thing, here's what makes it dangerous. They don't have to be bad things. It might be your career, your strive and drive for success, it might be a relationship in your life, it might even be your kids. All good things, but even good things become dangerous things when they start competing

with the best thing. So let me ask you, what's growing in your life right now that might be quietly suffocating your spiritual growth? Check out this last soil, the good soil. Good soil, Matthew 13, verse 23. As for what was sown on the good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields in the case of a hundredfold and another 60 and another 30. Look first at the other three soils. Hard soil, the enemy came and stole it. Shallow, the sun scorched it because there wasn't deep enough root. Crowded, the thorns of life, the cares of life choked it out. And in every one of those situations, there was no crop. So let me ask you something. Did the farmer stop and check the soil first? Did he walk outside and say, hang on, let's make sure this ground is just right before I throw any seed. Did Jesus say, hey, let me tell you a story about a farmer who went to sow, but first tested all the conditions and made sure it was just right and everything was perfect. And then he started planting. No, of course not. He walked outside, he picked up his bag of seed and he just started scattering because he knew something.

You see, he knew the seed was good. He knew his motive was good. And the only way to find good soil is to scatter the seed. Write this thing down. It is not the messenger and it is not the message that determines the result. It is not the messenger or the message that determines the result. It's the condition of the soil. It's not your presentation. It's not the exact words you say. You can stop worrying about getting every sentence perfectly right because at the end of the day, you're going to get a lot of things wrong. You can stop worrying about what people think about you. What determines whether someone receives Christ or not is the preparedness of. The soil, God is not asking you to find perfect soil. He's not even asking you to prepare it. God is asking you simply to scatter seed. 10 years ago, I was leading a student ministry in Tennessee and one Wednesday night, I was sharing the gospel with a group of about 200 high school students. And I was sharing, I'll be honest with you, I was super prepared. I came in locked and ready, right? I came in and I had a great message. I preached it well, communicated it well, got to the invitation, was very clear, very pointed, practical steps, right?

Got to the point of giving out an invitation to receive Christ and guess how many people received Jesus that night? Big old goose egg. So the next week, same students, next Wednesday night, I felt led to allow one of our high school students to share a little bit. So this junior in high school named Lake who had just gotten saved a month earlier gets up and gives one of the worst presentations I've ever heard. 16 different ways he went in this thing and talked for way too long of the time I allotted and then also decides to give out this invitation. And it was lousy, y'all. It was not good. It was not very clear and I'm just sitting there going, oh Lord, I'm gonna get fired. Guess how many people responded to the gospel? 22. Y'all, my message, my message was good. His was terrible. But the point is the presentation can be lousy. But if it's put in the right soil, God will make it happen. When it comes to sharing Jesus, the thing that makes for a successful encounter is not how well you present it, but how prepared their heart was. It's not how polished your presentation or how pretty you are, praise God.

It is how prepared the soul is to receive. And it's not you who prepares the soil, it's the Holy Spirit. And that's the third point, the third truth I wanna give you today. The Holy Spirit prepares the soil. Y'all, the gospel is powerful. The soil determines the response and it's the Holy Spirit that prepares the soil. Hear me on this. Preparing the soil is the most vital part of the whole thing, but that's not on you. The Holy Spirit is the one that says, no, no, no, let me do it, let me have it. We shouldn't be trusted to try to soften somebody else's heart anyways. Check out what John says in Revelation chapter 22. It says, the Spirit and the bride say, come. The Holy Spirit says, come. Jesus even told us about this before he died. He said, one of the Holy Spirit's roles is gonna be to draw people to the gospel. In other words, he's always saying, come. But here's the really cool part. The verse says, the Spirit and the bride says, come. Who's the bride? It's us. We get to join in with the Spirit to say, come. God has positioned you in your world to be a part of inviting other people to come.

In other words, we have a role to play in this thing. Honestly, we should be relieved of a lot of pressure because the Spirit is the one that's gonna do it. God never asked you to change someone's heart. That's the Holy Spirit's job. Your job is to simply scatter seed. You don't have to have the perfect words. You don't have to answer every question. You don't have to win every debate. Your job is to faithfully share Jesus, which brings me to our last truth in this parable. Evangelism is a process, y'all. It's a process. Gospel's powerful. The soil determines the response. The Holy Spirit prepares the soil. And evangelism is a process. Here's the reality. Telling people about Jesus is not always easy. In fact, most of the time, it's really uncomfortable and awkward because it's just not a normal conversation that we often walk into. But as you scatter seed, you may see someone come to know Christ, but you may not. People rarely go from zero to surrender in one conversation, but they're getting closer. It's a process. Write this down. Salvation is a moment, but evangelism is a process.

Salvation is a moment, but evangelism is a process. Every time you share Jesus, even when they don't receive Jesus, you are helping prepare them for the next. It's time someone scatters seed. How cool is that? Preparing them for the next time someone invites them to church. Someone answers a question. Someone shares their story. Someone explains the gospel, right? Eventually, that soil becomes ready. That's why when we share Jesus, there are really three possible responses. Either they reject it, they say, I'll think about it, or they receive it. And here's the thing. Two out of the three of those is actually progress. If you were playing basketball, March Madness, hello, you would take that field goal percentage, I promise you. Because every time the seed is scattered, the soil is being prepared. Here's a walk away for you. Success in evangelism is not getting someone to say yes. I'm gonna say that again. Success in evangelism is not getting someone to say yes. Success in evangelism is faithfully scattering the seed. That's it. We can't control the outcome. And I'll be honest with you, we shouldn't pretend to.

We only have to be obedient to share and to be sensitive to where people are in their process. Because everyone's next step is gonna look different. Everybody is in a little different soil. For some, the next step may be praying to receive Jesus. And for some of you today, maybe that's you. For others, it's to simply come to church. And yet for others, it may just be the promise to actually have a conversation. I have a friend named Steven, and last fall, I got a chance to really start getting to know him. We actually first met. He's a neighbor of mine. He came over to help me fix my fence. Again, princess hands. He came over to help me fix my fence, and it started a conversation. And over time, a conversation turned into another conversation and turned into another conversation that ultimately turned into conversations about Jesus. And one day, over a PB&B at Society Burger, God can do a lot of things over a good PB&B, we had a conversation and he ends up praying to receive Jesus. And that next Sunday, he gets baptized and then he turns around and baptizes his son. It's a really sweet story. But here's the point. It wasn't just one conversation.

It wasn't just one conversation that we had. It was multiples over time. In fact, it wasn't even just one person. I may have gotten a chance to help him cross the finish line, but I promise you, there were people in his life, his wife, his kids, his friends, his neighbors, his family, that were walking along scattering seed all on the way. And it wasn't even just one period of time. His wife had been praying for years. God allowed him to surrender when the soil was ready. So let me ask you, think about your story. For many of us, it happened exactly like that, right? There was a moment when someone invited you, a conversation got your attention, a question you couldn't shake, and eventually, there was a moment when the soil was ready and everything changed. The people around you, they don't need a revelation. They just need your invitation. So let me ask you a question. What is one person in your life right now that might be one conversation away from being ready? Maybe it's your neighbor too. Maybe it's the mom on the sideline with you at your kid's practice. Maybe it's your coworker. Maybe it's a friend. Who's the one in your life? Maybe their soil isn't ready today,

but what if the next seed you scatter is the one that prepares them for the harvest? Y'all, next week is Gospel Sunday, and here's what I wanna challenge us to do as a church. I'm included. Don't overthink it. Don't worry about having the perfect words. Just do what the farmer did. Scatter the seed. Invite them. Shoot that text message out that said, hey, would you come and sit with me this week? Because salvation may happen in a moment, but God has been preparing the soil for years, and you might be the person to help them take their next step, but sometimes the most powerful invitation we can give is to just simply say, would you come? It's like Revelation 22 said. It's just simply come. Let anyone who is thirsty come. In other words, invite them. Make the ask. Come and see. Because what feels like a small ask to you, God may use to change everything for them. And don't miss this. This message isn't just about someone else's soil. It's about yours. And maybe today.

You're the one who needs to respond. Maybe over the last few weeks and months, God has been scattering seed all over your life and through conversations, through people, through moments, you can't explain, but today, your soil is ready. Jesus invites you the same way he always has invited people. Come. If you're thirsty, come. If you're tired, come to Jesus. If you feel like life isn't working the way that you thought it would or going the way you thought it would, come. Because the seed of the gospel still has power to produce a harvest in your life. Let's pray together. With every head bowed and every eye closed, for some of you this morning, your heart feels hard or shallow or crowded with everything else. You've been trying to hold it all together on your own, but hear me, you were never meant to be the solution. Jesus is. And if something in you is opening right now, that's not random. That is God working in the soil of your heart. Don't miss this moment. Jesus is the one you've been looking for.

And today, he's inviting you to come. And if you never said yes to him, right where you are, you can. With every head bowed, every eyes closed, if that's you, and you're gonna, I wanna walk you through a prayer in just a minute, but know this, you're not praying alone. Every believer in the room will be praying with you as to encourage you. And if that's you today, would you pray this with me and say, dear God, I know I've made mistakes, but today I ask you to forgive me for all of my sins. Jesus, come into my life, be my Lord, my Savior, my forgiver. And in the best way I know how, I turn my back on my sin and I trust you alone, Jesus. To save me. Thank you for saving me. And before I say amen, before you pop your head up, would you, if you just prayed that prayer and you meant it with all of your heart, I wanna say congratulations. We wanna know about your decision. There's a Connect card and a seat back in front of you. Please fill that out, let us know. If you're watching online, would you let us know in the chat? Because we love your decision, but we're committed to your journey. And for the rest of us, the gospel only came to you.

Listen to this, the gospel only came to you because it was on its way to somebody else. God didn't just save you for you, he desires to use you. So I wanna ask, who's that one person that God would have you invite this week? Take a moment right now and ask Jesus, God, give me a name. God, show me someone's face. Ask him to give you the opportunity to share with them. And here's what I know, he will give you that opportunity, I promise you. To scatter the seed, you just stay ready. Let me pray over you as you think and you pray for those names. Jesus, we ask you right now. With Gospel Sunday a week away, God, we ask you right now, who is one person, God, that you would bring to mind for us to go reach? God, here's what I know in a room the size that every single person brought one, we would see a harvest unlike we've ever seen in this church before. And God, I believe you can do that. And I'm asking you, Jesus, to spur us on, to embolden your people, to go with urgency, to scatter the seed, to scatter seed in their world.

God, they're gonna connect to people, they're gonna see people that I will never come in contact with. And so, Jesus, I'm praying that you would embolden them to go and to scatter seed in their world, to see you, you transform lives. God, I'm praying for invitations that go out this week. God, that you allow people to be open and receptive to a conversation, open and receptive to an invite. And here's what I know, most of the time when we invite somebody, they say yes. And so, God, would you, again, strengthen your people for that task this week. And may we see an unbelievable harvest in the days ahead. Jesus, we love you, we praise you, and we thank you for the opportunity that we have today. In Jesus' name, amen and amen.