The Reward of the Sower

Isa 55:10-13

10 For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:

11 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

12 For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.

13 Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree: and it shall be to the LORD for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.

Topic: The Sower.

Matt 13:18-23  Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower.

19 When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side.

20 But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it;

21 Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.

22 He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.

23 But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.

The harvest is always according to how much that is sowed;

2 Cor 9:6-12 But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly ; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.

7 Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.

8 And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good

9 (As it is written, He hath dispersed abroad; he hath given to the poor: his righteousness remaineth for ever.

10 Now he that ministereth seed to the sower both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness 😉

11 Being enriched in everything to all bountifulness, which causeth through us thanksgiving to God.

12 For the administration of this service not only supplieth the want of the saints, but is abundant also by many thanksgivings unto God;

Illustration:

Farmers know that they have to sow as quickly as possible, they can’t wait and say well it’s suppose to rain and we can’t work.

But they work until it rains and they have that much planted in hopes of a good product at the time of harvest.

Truth:

Most people will say when things get better I will sow some into the Kingdom.

Well it’s not that way at all, you sow and then you have a better harvest. If you eat your seed you have nothing to sow.

Jesus Said: Luke 6:38 Give and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.

New Living Bible translation: Luke 6:38 :For if you give, you will get! Your gift will return to you in full and overflowing measure, pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, and running over.

Whatever measure you use to give-large or small-will be used to measure what is given back to you.”

So you can’t reap if you haven’t sown.

Question:

Does it matter where you sow?

Yes it does, the parable gave us several places that the seed was sown.

1.   By the wayside.

2.   On stony ground

3.   Among the thorns.

4.   Then good ground.

A.  Nothing was produced by the wayside

B.  No growth took place on stony ground

C.  And what was planted no one took care of and it grew thorns and it chocked out what was sown.

But on good ground it brought forth some thirty some sixty and some an hundred fold.

So where you sow matters and how you take care of what is planted matters.

If seeds are sown and not cultivated or chopped out it will produce some fruit but the weeds and grass and thorns will rob it of nutrients , water and whatever it takes to help it grow and it will produce little or no fruit at all.

If you come to church and hear the word the word has been sown to bring forth fruit. But if where it never reaches the heart it is sown buy the wayside, the devil has stolen it and it doesn’t produce fruit.

The stony ground means the word was sown and it got just enough root to last  a little while but when persecution came and hardship because it had not root it withered and died producing no fruit.

There is some seed sown and it takes root and begins to grow and the cares and riches of this world choke it out and it becomes unfruitful.

It is according how deep the word of God gets in a person that will determine if that person will produce much fruit or little or no fruit.

Those four places where the word is sown three of them shows that unless the word falls into good ground and produces fruit it will only wither and die.

What Jesus is trying to show us is this:

Matt 13:37-39

37 He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; {Jesus}

38 The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; [the Christians] but the tares are the children of the wicked one ;{ the devil}

39 The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.

So the word of God says this: Gal 6:7-9 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap

8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.

9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.

He that sows to the spirit reaps everlasting life and he that sows to the flesh damnation.

So where do you sow your time, your money, your love, and any other thing God has given you?   To the Spirit or to the flesh?

All the money you make in the world will not get you into the kingdom of God.

Jesus said: Mark 10:23 How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!

Mark 10:25: It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God.  TLB

Fact:

It’s not because he is rich that will stop him but it is because he is greedy and sows only for his own pleasure and gain.

God wants us to have abundance: Jesus said in John 10: 10 I came that you might have life and have it more abundantly:

Matt 16:26…For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? KJV

What would a man exchange for his soul?

1.   Popular among others.

2.   Pleasure of the world

3.   Riches and personal gain.

The list could go on and on. There are many parables about people denying God for reason or another.

There are a lot of things that stops a person from producing fruit.

Matt 7:18-21 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.

19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire.

20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. KJV

So you see it is very important to bring forth good fruit and to do that you have to sow good seed.

What does it mean to SOW a SEED? To sow a seed simply means to plant a seed. The word of God uses this as a metaphor to describe the concept of working to achieve something positive.

When the word of God was sown into a heart if that person takes the word and acts on it they will grow but if they forget what was preached to them the devil will steal away that which is sown.

The stony ground is some will get very excited about the word of god and do really good until persecution comes, or until a trial comes and then the word sort of just withers and dies because it hasn’t taken root.

The thorns grow up around some because they don’t pray they don’t read the bible they never get involved in church work or activities they quarantine themselves away from what would help them grow.

They use the excuse well I have this to do or that to do and have just been too busy. Sooner or later that person will let the worldly things choke out the life and they won’t bring forth any fruit.

There are some that are in the churches today who have been there for years and they haven’t produced any fruit at all.

Everyone else shares in the load and they just ride the wagon.

While some sacrifice into the Kingdom of God others just reap the benefits.

A good farmer knows that you can’t stop working because it looks like it might rain. They work and get as much done as possible then reap the benefits of the rain.

It is better to sow a little then to sow none at all. 50 acres of wheat or some other crop is better than standing in the shed looking at the clouds.

It may rain and it may not but they that fail to sow in faith will reap nothing and benefit nothing when it does rain.

You can’t wait until you get your bills paid and caught up to pay your tithes and offerings.

Because you bring a curse on yourself because you have failed to trust the Lord.

When you eat your seed you will never reap a harvest. Whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap. Galatians 6:7

If you don’t sow neither can you reap.

Mal 3:8-11 “Will a man rob God? Surely not! And yet you have robbed me. “‘What do you mean? When did we ever rob you?’ “You have robbed me of the tithes and offerings due to me.

9 And so the awesome curse of God is cursing you, for your whole nation has been robbing me.

10 Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so that there will be food enough in my Temple; if you do, I will open up the windows of heaven for you and pour out a blessing so great you won’t have room enough to take it in! “Try it! Let me prove it to you!

11 Your crops will be large, for I will guard them from insects and plagues. Your grapes won’t shrivel away before they ripen,” says the Lord Almighty.  TLB

Has everything you touched lately seem to go wrong?

Now it doesn’t mean if you give your tithes and offerings that you will never have a worry in the world because you will and sometimes they seem to never end.

But you are still blessed because you are a faithful child of God and God always blesses the faithful.

If someone has helped you turn and do something for someone else.

If you have something that will bless someone don’t always have a price tag on it give it away.

Try to remember the good deed done to you and return a good dead to someone else.

Not everything should have a price tag on it.

Luke 6:38 Give and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.

Being a Christian isn’t what I receive but what I give when we learn to give then we will also be the ones to receive.

It should make you feel good to give something to be a blessing to someone else.

If I give you something I’m not expecting anything in return. If I do something for you it is because I have received the gift of giving form my heavenly Father and it is the best gift of all.

Listen to what this scripture says; 1 John 3:17-22

But whoso hath this world’s good and seeth his brother have need and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him how dwelleth the love of God in him?

18 My little children let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.

19 And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him.

20 For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.

21 Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God.

22 And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.

People can have a bank account and lie and say I don’t have any money or I can’t afford to buy anything and they are not only greedy to others but will be in need their selves and won’t spend a dime.

There are people that will hold on to things that have a little value and hope to sell it for more than they give for it…. but won’t sell it because they are afraid someone is going to beat them out of it or make a profit off of them so they have them until they die and the kids or other relatives give it away or sell it very cheap.

A year or two ago, a man died he lived not far from here everyone that knew him thought he was poor and always gave him things and bought him lunch. He lived in a place no running water nor utilities and he died and they found out he was worth a million or more dollars.

He done without in this world he had but was afraid to spend that is called greed and selfishness.

What good is a million dollars to you when you are gone? Well someone else will enjoy it. This man because he deceived others and said he had no money.

New Madrid county received at least 50,000 dollars because he was so afraid someone would get his money he left it to no one and so someone claimed to be his daughter and she got all his wealth.

I ask again what good is money when you are gone?

You will never justify robbing God no matter what you tell yourself.

Story;

I have a friend that has more money than he can ever spend, he doesn’t give into the church and if he loans them money they have to pay him back. He pays tithes on his social security and complains he is broke and can’t afford to pay tithes or give offerings.

He watches as people in the church that love him suffer, he watched as his Pastor struggled to pay the church bills and went with little food and drove a junk vehicle and never offered one time to help.

But he enjoys the food at fellowships, he enjoys the heat in the winter and the air conditioner in the summer, he reaps the same benefits as all the others, but continues to cry I am broke.

I would say that man is the poorest man in the whole church. When you have no love, no desire to help others, you are a pauper in the eyes of God and hell will receive that kind of person with gladness.

Remember the parable of Lazarus and the rich man. Lazarus was poor and suffered in the world but was comforted in the bosom of Abraham.

But the rich man was in torment and still greedy in hell go tell my brothers not to come here, he wasn’t worried or concerned about anyone but his own. Greed never leaves you it is a tormentor even after this life.

I don’t know what it’s like to be greedy and watch the ones I love suffer when I can help them. I give all the credit to God because he showed me it was better to give than to receive.

Some of you have learned the reward of sowing into the Kingdom and there will be a great reward when Jesus takes us home. Jesus was a giver. He gave his life, what have you given?