What Kind of Seed Are You?

Posted on July 16, 2023

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Isaiah 55:10-13

Psalm 65:1-13

Romans 8:1-11

Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23

Over the last few days, we have oddly had a rather odd amount of rainfall for July. I find the cycle of water to be very interesting. Water vapor in the air pushes together through air currents until so much of it becomes too heavy to stay in the air and it begins to fall as rain droplets. What is also interesting is that these droplets can be lightly spread over a period of time or they can be very heavy and just dump on us like last Friday afternoon when a bunch of water dumped on us in a matter of minutes. However, the water does not stop there. Some of it goes into the ground and it is soaked up by plants and vegetation for growth. Some of it flows into rivers and streams which flow into lakes and oceans and feed these areas with fresh water. Some of it flows into drains and sewers and can be use to help flow out waste. Some will go deep into the ground and may be pumped out for use. However, the water does not stop just there. Much of it is heated up by the air and our sun and is evaporated back into the air to be start the process all over again. It is a continuous cycle created by our Lord to nourish and care for his creation.

Isaiah 55 compares this very process to that of the Word of God. Just like the rain falling onto the earth and then bringing forth fruit, so is the same of His Word which will come down to the earth nourishing His creation and bring forth Fruit. His Word will do what he meant for it to do. It will not be used in vain. Jesus whom we know as the Word of God spoke to the people in the form of a parable about the Sower who sowed his seeds. We all know this story and have probably heard it a number of times. Some fell on the path and the birds ate it up and it never was able to do anything. Some fell among the rocks and sprung up quickly but as soon as the hot sun came, they wilted away because they had no root to help them. Some fell among thorns and they grew but were choked out by the weeds and thorns and could not grow. But some fell into good soil and produced a crop that was a hundred-fold.

The Sower in this case is Jesus. The seeds are his Word. The soil is how we are living our lives and how we receive His Word. For some sadly they live by the flesh as is told to us in our passage from Romans 8. They choose to stay in the flesh because it is pleasing to them and so when the Word reaches them it means nothing because the devil snatches up these Words and they fall on deaf ears. These people sadly may never come to know and understand the promise of God’s Word because they choose to remain in the flesh.

Then there are those who are open to the Spirit but still hold on to some of the things of the flesh. They are like the seeds that fall among the rocks with shallow soil. They hear the Word and get all excited about it however, it never becomes anything more than just a bit of excitement and when the excitement is over or when something bad happens in their life, they have no root to stay in the Word and so they abandon the Word and go back to the flesh that they knew. Their faith was based entirely on emotion and once the emotions were gone the faith was gone.

Then there are those who believe in the Word but are so worried about life’s difficulties and they are so full of anxiety that their faith gets all choked out. If they could get past these anxieties and if the thorns in their life could be removed then they would continue to produce great faith. However, they also are choked out by the flesh and return to the flesh.

Then there are those who choose to live by the Spirit as Paul’s letter tells us. When the Word reached these people, they root themselves in that Word. For these people no amount of persecution can make them waiver. No amount of stress in life whether is be bad health or loss of loved ones can make them waiver. They are full of the faith and they don’t just keep it to themselves. They share the Word that was given to them and become Sowers themselves. This is what it means for the crop to produce a hundred-fold. For it does not just stop at where it is but spreads to the world.

So, I title this message what kind of seed are you. Are you here today and are you the seed that falls on the path. Are you able to hear this message and the promises of God and just ignore it because you desire your temporary desires of your flesh over eternal life in the presence of a loving God? Or will you hear this Word today and get all excited and on fire for Jesus. That is great to be on fire for Jesus. I have been to concerts and big events where everyone there feels the presence of the Spirit and gets on fire and so excited but as soon as they see troubles in life or as soon as the world of the flesh creeps back in then they are right back into where they were before. It is not enough to just be excited for Jesus. We need to be rooted into his Word. Or are you the seed that fell among the thorns and you are so full of worries in this life about whether your family will be taken cared of or whether you will have enough money to survive, or whether war is going to come to our country, or what will happen in the next elections. All of these anxieties choke out your faith and you become unable to live by faith because you do not let go and trust Jesus to carry you through. Or are you the seed that falls into good soil. You hear his Word; you trust your life in his Word and choose to live by the spirit and to please the Lord. You are so rooted that when troubles come such as you lose your job, you lose a loved one, you get cancer yourself, you experience heavy persecution and you are like Job never wavering from your faith and you still praise and worship the Lord and you share His word with others.

I personally have experienced being each of these seeds and soils in my life. I have heard the Word and walked away from it, I have gone to places and get excited for Jesus but turned back away once the excitement was over. I have been worried about so many things in this life that my faith has been choked out. And I have been tested to know his Word and be rooted in his word that when hard times came I did not waiver and I did not give up but worked that much harder to spread his Word. Unfortunately, I fear that they Church in the United States today is living in between the good soil and the thorns. They are rooted in his Word and they believe and trust in Jesus but they still let the fears and anxieties of this life stop them from being Sowers themselves. Therefore, the crop is producing little.

So, what soil and seed combination are you? Ask yourself that today. Be truthful to yourself in that. We are living in a time where the world will begin to not put up with sound doctrine and the good soil will become less and less. However, my desire for you is that you will find yourself in good soil and you will not be wavered by heavy winds, sun, or rain. That you will produce a crop a hundred-fold. Therefore, it is important to ask yourself today, what kind of seed are you?