Stay on Mission – 17th October 2017

1. Matthew 13: 1-9 The parable of the sower.
‘That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other see fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. Whoever has ears, let them hear.”
I begin a short series based on what I guess is one of the best-known of Jesus’ parables. Often called ‘The Parable of the Sower’. I find it interesting that whilst Jesus Himself refers to this as the parable of the Sower, it could just as easily be called ‘The Parable of the Soils’ or the Parable of the ‘Seed’.
Over the next few articles I will look a little more at the Sower, the Seed and the Soils but, by way of introduction, I wanted to point out that this parable, as with so many others that Jesus told, is about the Kingdom of God. Specifically, this parable is aimed at being fruitful! If we are going to Join Jesus in His Mission, being fruitful will be a key outcome!
In Johns’ Gospel, Jesus said: This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. (John 15:8) When I am speaking at a gathering I often ask those gathered if they are disciples of Jesus, frequently there is a large chorus of ‘Yes’. I then encourage them to ask themselves the question ‘are you bearing fruit?’ This is an important question because Jesus is pretty clear on what it means to be a disciple. If we are not bearing fruit we are not His disciple! We may be hugely involved in church activities but if we are not bearing fruit, this makes no difference.
So, what is the ‘fruit’ that we should bear. I think there are two aspects to this and they are inter-connected. Like two sides of the same coin:
1. The Fruit of Christ-likeness: ‘And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit’ 2 Corinthians 3:18
2. The Fruit of Disciple Making – Jesus commands His disciples to make disciples!
3. As you consider these challenging words, take a few moments to pray and ask the Lord to help you to ‘let you hear’ what He is saying to you today.