Beloved congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ,

This morning I would like to focus on the task of the office bearers, who as servants of God do not come with their own word, but with the word of their heavenly Sender, i.e. the Word of Christ. Using the example of the parable chosen as text for this morning’s sermon, office bearers are sowers who sow the seed, the seed of the Word of God.

I realise that this applies in particular to the minister of the Word. Yet also the elders and deacons, visiting the homes, come with this same Word.

In the Form for the Ordination of Elders and Deacons we read that it belongs to the task of the elders, "to faithfully visit the members of the congregation in their homes to comfort, instruct, and admonish them with the Word of God, reproving those who behave improperly." As to the task of the deacons it reads, "They are called to encourage and comfort with the Word of God those who receive the gifts of Christ’s love."

The point now is what do we as congregation do with this Word of God when it is brought into our homes? Does it bear fruits? The parable chosen as text for this morning’s sermon teaches that it also happens that the seed of the life-giving Word of God does not bear fruit. Birds, scorching heat and thorns threaten the seed that is sown. Only the seed that fell on good ground yielded a crop that sprang up, increased and gave produce. The reason for this was not because it was sown in different soil, but it had to do with the depth and receptiveness of the soil in which the sower sowed the seed. With this image the Lord Jesus teaches us that God’s Word can bear fruit only when it meets with a really listening ear and also a heart that is willing to submit to it.

I preach you the Word of God under the following heading,

I "Behold, a sower went out to sow." The Lord Jesus uses here an image very common to those who were listening to Him. A sower went out to sow. A necessary duty. For when you do not sow you cannot expect growth or fruit either. Next, also the quality of the seed is very important. Finally one should also take into account that not all soil is fertile.

Well, in the first point of the sermon we will direct our attention to the quality of the seed that is sown. The seed in the parable is used as an image for the Word of God by the apostle Peter called "the imperishable seed." It is the seed of regeneration, which can only take root and produce fruit when it meets with faith in the hearers. And therefore it is indeed very important in what kind of soil the seed is sown. I will say more about this in the second point of the sermon.

To understand the parable we have to see the Lord Jesus Christ as the great Sower. When He came to this earth God’s dominion of grace broke through mightily in redemption of sinners, in miracles of faith and repentance. The congregation chosen by God to everlasting life was gathered. In accordance with the OT prophecies, the renewal of God’s once beautiful yet by sin corrupted creation became now reality. To this end Christ came to shed His blood. This was necessary, as He Himself had said, "unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain."

This produce we see revealed after Easter, but especially after Pentecost. The great Sower through the ministry of His apostles sowed the seed, the seed of the Word of God, which indeed produced rich fruit. Yet this same preaching also met with a lot of opposition, infertile soil.

For we should not forget, beloved, wherever the gospel is preached Satan is active as well. After all, the work of the great Sower is a direct attack at the realm of darkness. Well, whereas Satan can no longer attack the great Sower Himself, he has girded his sword with the aim to ruin the seed that is sown. He has a devilish interest in the sowing work of Christ, directing his first attack on the seed sown by this sower. How now does Satan do this?

The sower sows the word, the word of God. The evangelist Matthew speaks about the word of the kingdom. To sow this word the Lord Jesus Christ makes use of the service of men. The Word of God is proclaimed from the pulpit, but also ministered in the catechism classes and in the homes. Indeed, through the service of men. Well, beloved, Satan is very active trying to prevent that these men sow the good seed. The christian church must always be on guard for this danger. Carefully it must keep an eye on the quality of the seed that is sown the hearts of men. Thus one of the tasks of the elders is also to make sure that the teaching is sound. The Form for the Ordination reads, "They shall permit no strange teaching, so that in every respect the congregation is edified by the pure doctrine of the gospel. Therefore they must watch diligently that no wolves enter the sheepfold of the Good Shepherd." Never should a church assign more authority to itself and its ordinances than to the Word of God. The church does not preach human ideals or a message easy to accept for modern man, but instead it must preach the full truth of the Word of God, which is often difficult to accept for the sinful flesh. It is a truth, which requires self-denial of its hearers. Yet this is the only way in which the seed finally will bear fruit.

Summarising, before drawing attention to the soil in which the seed is sown, first of uttermost importance is that the seed that is sown is indeed qualified seed. Qualified, this means this seed must be the undiluted truth of the Word of God. Office bearers should never water down this truth to please the hearers. The minister should not do so on the pulpit, but the elders and deacons not either when visiting the homes of the members of the congregation. The heavenly Sender requires faithfulness in the office, total submission to His Word.

And, Br. & Sr., that’s how we now also ought to receive these brothers, who indeed come to us with the authority of Christ. Perhaps just a simple brother not as learned as you are and yet an ambassador of Christ. Yes, let us be careful that we never take offence at the unadorned way in which the gospel sometimes comes to us.

Let it for us serve as a warning that throughout the ages many indeed did take offence at it. I think here of the Jews in Jesus’ day who rejected the Christ, since the kingdom He preached did not come in that spectacular way as they expected it to come. Likewise writes the apostle Paul, "It pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. For Jews request a sign, and Greek seek after wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men."

The parable drawn to our attention this morning also speaks about a very ordinary thing: a sower went out to sow. As such nothing special at all! Nevertheless, that’s how in the end the full harvest will be gathered in.

Well, that’s how also the office bearers do their work. Ordinary men who visit you in your homes. As such nothing spectacular. But through them God will sow the seed of His Word in the midst on this His congregation. With the Word of God the office bearers go out to encourage, to comfort, to exhort and if necessary also to admonish. That’s how the seed is sown. And then indeed the office bearers have to make sure that this is done in faithfulness, in faithfulness towards the Great Sower in whose service they stand.

The next point now is that this seed can only bear fruit when it also meets with a listening ear and a receptive heart. Well, also in this area Satan is active trying his utmost to prevent the seed from bearing fruit. This brings me to my second thought.

II Br. & Sr. even when quality seed is sown in faithfulness it does not automatically bear rich fruit. To say it in more explicit terms: faithful preaching of the gospel, giving our children reformed education, good attendance of the Bible Study Societies should not cause us to say too quickly: everything is okay. For the parable teaches right through the parch of land on which the sower sows the seed runs a footpath, of which soil is trod down and so compact that the seed that falls on it just lays there and soon is picked a way by the birds.

Here we receive a picture of the attempts of the devil to straight away undo the power of the Word that is sown. This happens to those who hear the gospel but do not understand it. Not because it is too difficult for them to understand, but because their listening is not mixed with faith. The soil is not fertile. And that’s what counts. Well, this brings us to the heart of the parable.

The sower sows the seed and he looks for fruit. Well, there will only be fruit when the seed is sown in fertile soil. This shows that whoever hears the gospel has still his own calling and responsibility. The gospel is always preached with the command to repent and believe.

Using the parable of the sower sometimes people speak about ‘historical faith’ and ‘temporal faith’.

Historical faith, - these are the people who do not contradict Scripture, believe that the facts related in Scripture happened, but they are indifferent to the Word. God ‘s Word sown in their hearts does not work repentance.

Temporal faith, - these are the people who run away with the content of the Bible, think it is interesting and love to talk about it, but their faith has no depth; it is not real. That’s why it ends when difficulties or oppression arise. It only exists for a time.

Historical and temporal faith – Br. & Sr., there is great danger in using these terms. For in fact historical faith and temporal faith have nothing to do with faith at all, instead it is pure unbelief. Who in cases like these still wants to speak of faith runs the risk of thinking that there are various sorts of christian belief. History has taught that within this train of thought the most important thing is that you have saving faith. And to determine whether you indeed have this saving faith one has to pay attention to certain feelings and experiences.

Yet when it comes to true faith Scripture itself does not refer to certain feelings and experiences but simply to fruits of faith. In the letter of James it reads, "Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead." The Canons of Dort state that the assurance of saving faith is not received "by inquisitively prying into the hidden and deep things of God, but by observing in ourselves, with spiritual joy and holy delight, the unfailing fruits of election pointed out in the Word of God – such as true faith in Christ, a childlike fear of God, a godly sorrow for our sins, and a hunger and thirst for righteousness." That’s how the seed bears fruit.

True, Scripture also teaches us that this fruit is worked the regenerating and life-renewing work of the Holy Spirit. But that’s not the point the parable of the sower. In this parable the emphasis is on how does the hearer receive the Word and what does he do with it.

Let us go back to the parable now. Part of the seed that is sown falls by the wayside. There are hearers who hear the Word, but as soon as they hear it immediately Satan comes to takes it away. They are not really interested. Other things occupy their hearts and thoughts. The message does not come any further than the surface. Impressions fade away as quickly as they were obtained.

As regards this category we should not give thought only to uninterested outsiders when confronted with the gospel, but this can also happen to people inside the church. Let me just give a few practical examples.

Commenting on a sermon after church you say, "Not much new this morning." Or another comment, "I can’t do anything with the sermon for my daily life." You go home unfed, the gospel did indeed come no further as the surface. It did not penetrate. But the fault was your own attitude.

An other example – you receive a home visit, but you sit there with the attitude, "What shall that brother tell me, I know how to live my life." In other words there is no respect for what the office bearer as an ambassador of Christ has to say.

Beloved, never forget, where God sows Satan is active as well. He is as quick as the birds to seize his opportunity to take the seed of God’s Word away, to rob it of its power. Also here applies, beloved, do not give opportunity to the devil.

Another part of the seed fell on stony ground, where there was no thick layer of soil. Immediately it sprang up, but when the sun was up it was scorched, and because it had no root it withered away. There was some growth, but there were not enough nutrients and also moisture was lacking. Thus in the end everything withered away.

The Lord Jesus gives His own explanation of who belong to this category. These are the people who hear the Word and immediately receive it with gladness. But because they have no root in themselves it endures only for a time. The promises of the gospel are embraced with enthusiasm. And as such these people have no difficulties with the obligations of God’s covenant either. They make no problem of the message preached to them, rather they are enthusiastic about it. This is it! It was a good sermon, the truth has been preached. Don’t say a thing about it! Received in gladness, indeed!

Yet circumstances sometimes quickly change. It was indeed a beautiful sermon on Sunday, yet on Monday we face different things. The practice of life is different. The ward-elder can nicely say it on a home visit and I even agree with him. But in this particular situation it does not apply. If he was in my shoes and it would cost him money, or people would make a laughing stock of him, he would talk differently as well.

See, there you have it, Br. & Sr. The message is embraced with enthusiasm, but when it requires self-denial or sacrifices, then it is costing too much. Then what seemed to be powerful growth appears to have no root and there is no crop.

Let us be careful, Br. & Sr., that we never become people of the moment. The parable shows quite clearly that where initially there seemed to be growth soon the hardened heart played up again. There was no real submission to the Word of God in all areas of life, no real obedience in the practical things of everyday life. The initial enthusiasm had no depth. Such faith is no real faith, since it does not bear lasting fruits.

Finally there is the seed that fell among the thorns. Also here there is initial growth and the expectations are high. Yet the soil in which the seed was sown contained also different roots, from which thorns grew up. In the end these thorns which prosper well, like weed often does, choke the good seed. It takes away from it all nutrients, light and air. And so in the end there is again no crop.

The Lord Jesus says that’s how also the seed of the Word can be choked by the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches and the pleasures of life. Yet an other course at TAFE, a hobby, leisure time, relaxation or sport – in the end all this absorbs so much of our time that there is no longer any time left for further study of God’s Word or for other kingdom work. True, there might indeed be a desire to serve the Lord, to obey His Word, but all the other things become in the end so overbearing that again the result is that there is no real fruit.

And, beloved, note well, when there is no real fruit there is no salvation either. Watch and pray, therefore, that your life will never become so full of the cares of this world, of all kind of personal wants - so full that the fruit, which your life should bear for God, is choked by it.

III I come to the last point of my sermon. A sermon which until now might have come across somewhat cheerless. Time and again there was no fruit. Yet –and this brings us to the end of the parable- there is also seed that indeed does fall in fertile soil, where is germinates, springs up and bears fruit some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.

Was this different seed? No, it was the same Word of God that was sown. Nowhere does Scripture teach that the one gospel should be split up in two kind of promises: the real promises only for the elect and other promises for everyone in the church. In the Canons of Dort we confess, III/IV, 8, "..." And then it continues it Art. 9, "..."

So it is indeed the same seed that is sown. Yet in the fertile soil it is received with a noble and good heart, as it reads in the gospel according to Luke, which means a believing heart.

Now we have to be careful here, for in other places Christ teaches, without me you can do nothing." He who would think this last group of people is better, their heart is not as corrupt as that of the other hearers, is wrong. For none is righteous, there is none who seeks after God. This believing heart is fruit of the renewing work of the Holy Spirit. This is not to be ascribed to man, but to God alone.

The evangelist Matthew says, "he who received the seed on the good ground is he who hears the Word and understands it." They marvel at the riches of the redemption in Christ preached in the gospel and want to render their life to this Christ out of thankfulness for this glorious gospel. Not by their own free will, nor by forceful coercion, but by the efficacious working of the regenerating Spirit.

Yet here we should not forget that the Spirit always works through the Word. The Spirit indeed works sovereign, yet through the gospel that is preached to each and everyone with the command to repent and believe.

In the parable of the sower all these elements are not worked out in detail. All emphasis is put on the fact that there is indeed the command to believe and to work with what we hear. The seed sowed in fertile soil are those who having heard the Word of God also keep it, as the evangelist Luke says it.

For the word ‘keep’ the original Greek uses a word that literally means ‘keeping hold of something". You seize it and you cling to it determinedly. See, beloved, that’s how we are to cling to the Word of God in order that it may indeed bear fruit in our life.

That’s how we ought to listen on Sunday when the gospel is preached to us. But this also applies to the young people when this same gospel is taught to them in the catechism class, or, beloved, when your elder or deacon comes to visit you in your home and opens his bible to encourage, comfort or exhort you. In all these instances the seed of the word is sown in order that it may bear fruit.

What kind of fruit? Fruits of repentance and obedience. It means that more and more we hate and flee from sin, whilst it becomes our earnest desire with love and delight to live according to the will of God in all good works, and this out of thankfulness for the redemption we have received in Christ. A redemption which we received out of mere grace.

In bearing fruit it becomes indeed our desire to commit our whole life to the Lord, old or young, married or unmarried, at home, at school or in the work force. It is the fruit, which the apostle Paul observed in the congregation of Thessalonica. He writes to them, I Thess. 1, 6-10, "..."

See there, beloved, how the seed bears fruit, indeed lasting fruit. The parable speaks about a variety of fruits, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred. As regards God’s children there is diversity of gifts, diversity in tasks that have been given, diversity also in the course God takes with our life. Therefore we should not look at others, but in our own situation in faith respond to the Word of God. That’s how we ought to bear fruit.

This morning we focussed on the task of the office bearers. Men through whom Christ wants to sow the seed in the midst of this His congregation. This requires first of all faithfulness from the side of those who serve in that special office. Yet on the other hand as congregation we have to receive these men as ambassadors of Christ, who do not come with their own Word, but with the seed of the Word of God; seed that must bear fruit. Again this does not happen by itself. A plant growing on God’s field needs much care. But where that care is given and also is received in faith, God will provide produce.

Amidst all kind of opposition with which the Word of God meets in this world, and at times also in the church, when people harden their heart and don’t want to listen to the brothers office bearers, -despite all this opposition the harvest will be plentiful. That’s the promise with which this parable ends. A glorious promise, indeed.

Beloved, pray the Lord of the harvest that these fruits may become more and more abundant also in your life. Pray that also your life may be an image of pure and wholesome wheat.

Amen.

Last modified: December 01, 2002