This morning we’re beginning a new series of sermons - looking at Parables of the Kingdom - exploring together Jesus’ teaching on the Kingdom of God.  Please turn with me to Matthew 13 - starting at verse 1 - which is the first of these parables.  The parable which is often referred to as The Parable of the Sower and The Seed.

In Dubai - one of the seven sheikdoms - or kingdoms - of the United Arab Emirates - what used to be a sleepy little fishing village in this kingdom - Dubai is now a glitzy modern city rivaling Las Vegas. In the middle of nowhere - perched on the edge of the Saudi Arabian dessert is this kingdom that has the world’s first underwater hotel, the largest man-made island chain, a $1 million dollar golf tournament, and the largest shopping mall outside the United States.

Their latest project - at a cost of $83 million - is SkiDubai.  Imagine this - a 25 stories tall - elbow shaped - all enclosed snow covered mountain - surrounded by sand dunes.  Outside its in the 80’s.  Inside its a constant 28 degrees.  Every night they produce 3,000 tons of fresh snow.  There’s a 300 yard long ski lift, a painted blue ceiling, and fake fir trees.

You ever wonder why the price of gas is so high?  These people are taking a desert kingdom and making it into a combination of Switzerland and Las Vegas - Switzvegas.

Way too often that’s how we view the Kingdom of God.  The Kingdom exists for us.  We can transform it - make it - to be anything we want it to be.  It needs to conform to our experiences - our needs - our desires - our understanding - our will.

In contrast - Gene Mims, in his book, “The Kingdom Focused Church” gives this definition of The Kingdom of God that’s really right on.  Gene Mims writes this:  “The kingdom of God is the reign of God in today’s world.  The kingdom is the ultimate reality and sovereign movement of God in the universe.” (1)

The Kingdom of God is God’s - and in His sovereignty what He desires to do in us and through us. 

Matthew 13 - verse 1:  That day Jesus went out of the house and was sitting by the sea.  And large crowds gathered to Him, so He got into a boat and sat down, and the whole crowd was standing on the beach.  And He spoke many things to them in parables…

“That day” was like many other days in the ministry of Jesus.  His day has been filled with healing the sick - battling with the Pharisees - casting out demons - large numbers of people demanding that he perform miracles for them.  And, Jesus has been teaching about the Kingdom of God.

Jesus leaves the house that’s been His base of operations in Capernaum - up on the north shore of the Sea of Galilee.  He goes and sits by the sea.  These large crowds again come to Him.  A crowd so large that it filled the shore so that there was no room for Jesus.  So, Jesus gets into a boat that He had waiting there.  Jesus begins to teach the people from the boat.

He begins to speak to them in parables - using illustrations - stories that paralleled what He’d been teaching these crowds of people about the Kingdom of God.  A picture is worth - what?  a thousand words.  So is a good illustration.  Sticks in our minds.  Helps us to understand the message.

I’ve been told.  “Steve, more jokes please.  More illustrations.”  Years after sharing a sermon - people will come up to me - they can remember the illustrations.  They have no clue what the sermon was about.  But, they remember the illustration.

Jesus gave illustrations - parables - for a different reason.  They were the kind of illustrations that - when Jesus was done with the illustration - people would say, “Uh, I don’t get it.  What did He mean by that?”  Which was why He told the parables.  So people wouldn’t get it.

Matthew 13 - going on in verse 3 - here’s the parable:  “Behold, the sower went out to sow; and as he sowed, some seeds fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate them up.  Others fell on the rocky places, where they did not have much soil.  But when the sun had risen, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.  Others fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them out.  And others fell on the good soil and yielded a crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.”

Jesus takes an illustration from nature.  Something like this was probably going on nearby.  It goes on around here all the time.  He could have pointed down the curve of the seashore to where a person was sowing seeds.  The crowd could see the seeds falling on different types of soil.  The birds coming and eating the seeds.  Its a vivid scene.

Then He wraps up the parable with this in verse 9:  He who has ears, let him hear.”  And that’s it.  He’s done.  We can hear the crowd goin’ “Uh, I don’t get.  What was His point?  Hear what?”

The crowd was following Jesus - why?  The were focused on what?  Everything but what Jesus was teaching.  They were trying to make the Kingdom of God into a circus - with Jesus the star act - performing miracles - conforming to their wishes and desires.  But the Gospel - the good news of the Kingdom - the reign and movement of the sovereign God in the universe is more than a circus act.  Church - life in the Body of Christ - life with God - is not for our entertainment purposes.

So, Jesus spoke in parables - awakening curiosity - prompting His hearers to ask, “What did He mean by that?”  So that Jesus would have the opportunity to explain what it means that the Kingdom of God has come to us.  What it means to live as a citizen of God’s Kingdom.

That’s what we’re going to be exploring together - over the next several Sundays - are these parables that speak of what it means to live subject to the reign and the movement of the sovereign God within His universe.

Verse 10:  And the disciples came - afterwards - off to the side - and said to Him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?”  It’s a way of saying, “We don’t get it.”  Without saying, “We don’t get it.”

Verse 11:  Jesus answered them, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, to them it has not been granted.  That sounds harsh.  Doesn’t it?  But hang on.  Let’s understand Jesus’ point.

Verse 12:  “For whoever has, to him more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him.”  Hang on.

Verse 13:  “Therefore - because it hasn’t been granted to them to understand and what they have is being taken away - therefore I speak to them in parables; because while seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.”

Here’s the reason.  They’re not seeing - not hearing - not understanding - here’s why:  “In their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says, ‘You - who?  God’s people - Israel - You will keep on hearing, but will not understand; you will keep on seeing, but will not perceive; for the heart of this people has become dull - Underline that statement.  We’ll come back to it. - for the heart of this people has become dull, with their ears they scarcely hear, and they have closed their eyes, otherwise they would see with their eyes, hear with their ears, and understand with their heart and return, and I would heal them.’”

Pause there and let’s make sure we understand this.

The bottom line is in verse 15:  “Their hearts have become dull.”  Spiritually, its like talking to a post.  Jesus is preaching the kingdom - the awesomeness of all that God offers to them - and their response is “How about another miracle?”

They hear just a little - just enough for entertainment purposes - just enough to make them feel good about themselves and what they’re a part of.  But they’ve closed their hearts to the implications for their lives.  We come to church and enjoy the singing and the sermon.  But, too often we choose not to act on the implications for our lives.

God has respected the choice His people have made - “granted” them freedom of choice.  Otherwise they’d be hearing what Jesus is saying - seeing why He’s doing what He’s doing  - and they would understand what all this is about - in depth of their hearts.

Let me come at this from a slightly different angle.  When Jesus began His public ministry - in a synagogue in Nazareth - He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah to read.  Jesus read, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He anointed Me to preach the Gospel to the poor.  He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed, to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.” (Luke 4:16-19)

That’s the coming of the Kingdom - what Gene Mims is writing about - The reign of God in today’s world - the sovereign movement of God in the universe.  Its what God opens up to us in His kingdom - the healing and freeing and recovery.

Jesus speaks and a paralyzed man gets up and walks  He commands and a dead man walks alive out of a tomb.  The deaf hear with crystal clarity.  The blind see.  A woman bleeding for 12 years stops hemorrhaging.  A leper is cleansed.  How much more would God do in their hearts.  Release to the captives - setting free the oppressed.  

God’s pleading, “If they’d just turn to Me I’d heal their hearts - heal them in the depths of who they are - their deepest wounds.  Instead, what I’m offering them - what they’ve been longing for from the days of the prophets - its just going to pass right under their noses and they’re going to miss it all.”

Remember when we looked at the Seven Letters to the Seven Churches - in Revelation?  Jesus uses this phrase - over and over to the Church, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

Eyes and ears are the gateway to the heart - the deepest part of who we are.  “He who has ears to hear” is all about the heart of a disciple - the condition of our heart before God.  Our openness to the work of the Holy Spirit.  Our willingness to act on what we hear - to repent - to change - to grow.  To allow God to move us - transform us - conform us - according to His sovereign will.  Those who are spiritually alive and seeking the Kingdom will hear what Jesus is saying.

God’s pleading with His people to get this.  The sad reality is that many choose not to hear.  And God honors that choice.

Verse 16 - in contrast - are the disciples.  They don’t quite get it.  But, they’re listening.  Verse 16:  “But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear.  For truly I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.”

Old joke.  See how many of you remember this one.  While attending a marriage seminar on communication, David and his wife listened to the instructor declare, "It is essential that husbands and wives know the things that are important to each other."

He addressed the husbands, "Can you describe your wife's favorite flower?"

David leaned over, touched his wife's arm gently and whispered, "Pillsbury All-Purpose, isn't it?"

Anyone remember the sermon you heard that with?

Think about the great lengths that God has gone to to communicate to us.  God revealing Himself to us in His creation - all of which testifies of who He is.  The inspiration and preservation of the Bible so we have it today - for us.  Jesus who is God’s word in the flesh - wrapped up in the easier to understand packaging of where we live our lives - speaking directly to us.  The bottom line is that God is continually seeking to communicate to us - to explain His word - the depths of His heart to us - what it means to live within His Kingdom - within His sovereignty. 

Say this with me “God wants to communicate with me.”

Back in verse 11 Jesus tells the disciples, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven”  There are a number of “mysteries” referred to in the Bible.  Mysteries are the inside information on what God is doing and why.  What Jesus is teaching about - and demonstrating right in front of their eyes.  Its stuff about the Kingdom  that even prophets weren’t given to understand.  But Jesus’ disciples are given that privilege.

In verse 18 Jesus begins His explanation of the parable.  Verse 18:  Hear then the parable of the sower.  When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart.

The sower is who?  Jesus Christ.  The word is what?  God’s message to us - everything we need to know about living in the Kingdom - to live in the promises and blessings of God.  The evil one - the one who snatches away God’s word from our heart - is who?  Satan.  The soil is our what?  heart.  This parable is really the parable of the soil - our hearts.

Going on in verse 19 - four examples of what happens as God’s word is sown into our hearts. 

First example - verse 19:  This is the one on whom seed was sown beside the road - and the birds came and ate the seed.

These are the unresponsive hearts.  Its like trying to sow seeds on asphalt.   The seeds just lie there waiting for the birds to snatch them up.  These are people so busy with the daily things of life that thoughts about God don’t have a chance.  There’s just too much else going on.

Its easy for us to fall into this trap - even with the best intentions.  We’re doing all these things for God - teaching Sunday School - singing on the worship team - ushering - pastoring - busy - busy - busy - serving God.  We come to church because its what we do before we do the other things we have lined up on Sunday.  Been there - done that - next item.

We get so busy that we never have to face the deeper things in our lives.  Are we open to what God wants to do in us? 

Verse 20 - second example:  The one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away. 

These are the impulsive hearts.  These are informercial people.  Their garages are filled with “Bowflexers” and “George Foreman Grills.”  They respond enthusiastically to everything - new diets - the latest books - whatever’s popular at the time.  When they hear the word of God - some new truth - teaching -  or understanding - they embrace it - joyfully.  They’re so busy learning about God that they never allow Him to speak to the deeper issues of their hearts.

Take a plant - put it into a shallow pot - and the roots do what? -  quickly fill up the pot - so all the “growth” energy goes into the upper part of the plant.  And the plant does what?  Grows fast and tall.  Then this huge beautiful plant dies because it never developed the root system it needed for life.  There’s no depth - no maturity - no staying power through the difficult things of life.

Third example - verse 22:  And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word and it becomes unfruitful.

These are the burdened hearts.  They struggle with two types of burdens - thorns that snag them.

First, “the worry of the world.”  They ask, When?  Where?  How?  They’re worried about every situation they face.  They’re constantly trying to work things out for themselves - whatever those things are.  They don’t know.  But they’re working hard at finding the answer.

Second, they’re burdened with “the deceitfulness of wealth” - rather than trusting God they’ve turn to wealth - wound covering pleasure.  They’re drifting from one unsatisfying experience to another - never satisfied with what God has blessed them with - never learning to rely on God.

Fourth example - verse 23:  And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.”

These are the receptive hearts - accepting the word - immediately responsive - producing fruit.  What Jesus is describing is not necessarily four different types of people.  But, four possible conditions of our own hearts.  Pointing out where we struggle and where we need to be.  Let’s be honest - way too often we fall short of being a receptive heart. 

Satan - the one who snatches away - fears that - in the depths of who we are - fears that we’ll realize the tremendous reality of what it means to live under the sovereignty of God in His Kingdom.  Fears our hearts being open to God.

Because if we ever get this our lives will be radically transformed.  We will not only live more fully than we can imagine within the blessings and power of God - but we as a people will be used by God - to the fullness of what He has designed us for - and not even the gates of hell will be able to stand against what God will do through us.

Satan will use any means - overt or subtle to keep God’s word from getting deep down into our hearts.  Busyness with the things of life - even the things of God.  Seminars and books and church services and Bible studies - the pursuit of knowing stuff about God - without ever really opening our hearts to God.  All the things we worry about and the stuff we try cover our wounds with.  Our weaknesses - our little sins - our deeper wounds that we don’t even want to think about.  He’ll uses it all - any way He can - to keep us from realizing who God - in Christ Jesus - has created us to be.     

Thinking about what Jesus is teaching here and how His teaching applies to our lives - let  me suggest that the ongoing Kingdom work of God in our lives requires that we daily be reminded of our brokenness and dependence on God.  The healing that we need - the life that we long for - the answers that we are seeking are all found in Him.  But, we must be broken - our hearts open to Him - to see and hear and understand what He has for us.

One word of application:  FERTILIZER.  Say that with me, “Fertilizer.”

The concrete we call soil here in Merced needs fertilizer to prepare it for planting.  So do our hearts.  To fertilize takes planning - when to fertilize - what type of fertilizer - how to apply it.

Unresponsive hearts need the fertilizer of time.  Say this with me, “We need time.”  We need to get past the distractions of busyness and have regular times of being alone with God.  Not just running through our day with God - but carving out dedicated time to focus on Him.  To speak with Him about the deep stuff of our hearts.  To offer ourselves to Him in confession - in worship - in thanksgiving - in surrender.  

Impulsive hearts need the fertilizer of study.  Say this with me, “We need to study.”  We need to get past all the things we hear other people saying  about God and allow Him to speak to us directly.  To be with Him in His word - reading - studying - meditating - memorizing - letting His word get into us and rattle around in our hearts - pointing out what needs to be surrendered - forgiven - healed - restored.

Burdened hearts need the fertilizer of silence before God.  Say this with me, “We need to be silent.”  It is an amazing truth that if we listen, God speaks.  So, if we’re not hearing His voice maybe we’re not listening?  Or, we’re expecting God to do heart-transforming work in 30 second sound bites?  There needs to be a time when we stop talking at God - about all the things on our agenda that we want Him to perform for us - to free up our hearts for silence before God - to be stilled - so that we listen to what He has to say about our hearts - His perspective of our lives - His plan for us.   

God wants to deal with the deeper issues of our hearts - to bring real life transformation - to create in us the enduring and incredible person that He intends - to grow us and strengthen us - to mature us - in the midst of all of what’s going on around us.  To bring the reality of His Kingdom into our hearts. 

Jesus is trying to communicate to a crowd that’s so focused on everything else that they’re completely missing the message.  God wants to share with us from the depths of His heart.  Do we have ears to hear?

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