Scripture Passage
Worship Video
Worship Audio
Sermon Script
Why did you come to church today? Did you come out of habit? Obligation? Or a real desire to worship God?
And what are you expecting from this sermon? Is it just something to get through before getting to talk to people? Are you eagerly waiting for what God has to say to you?
The main question I want to focus on today is: What kind of heart are you coming into this sermon with?
That question is at the core of today’s passage.
Jesus tells a parable about the Word of God.
He compares the Word of God to a seed.
It’s just a small little seed. But that little seed contains great power. It has the incredible power to grow and bear fruit.
The fruit that the Word of God bears is change. Transformation.
The Word has the power to change you and transform you. It has the power to give you hope when your situation is bad. It has the power to comfort you when you’re down. It has power to change how you see your situation. It has power to change who you are. That’s what the Word does.
You know, the older I get, the more I realize just how hard it is for people to change.
But the Word has power to change you. It cuts to the heart; it awakens you. It gives you the grace and perspective to be patient in waiting for that change.
The change in you is the fruit that blesses others. When you become a more hopeful person. A more gracious person. A more joyful person.
That change that the Word brings is the delicious fruit that others can enjoy and be nourished by.
I’ve seen the change that the Word has brought in many of you. It has certainly changed my life.
In that sense, the Word is exciting. It is a blessing that gives life.
The Word is planted by hearing.
But in today’s passage, we see that hearing alone is not good enough. There are four different kinds of soil: the path, rocky soil, soil with thorns and good soil. In all four types, people hear the Word. But not all bear fruit.
What is the necessary ingredient for the Word to bear fruit?
Hear what Jesus says:
But as for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty. (Matthew 13:23)
Contrary to this, the seed that takes no root at all lacks that critical ingredient:
When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in the heart; this is what was sown on the path. (Matthew 13:19)
The critical ingredient is understanding. Hearing and understanding.
So I want to reflect on what understanding is.
Understanding is more than mere intellectual comprehension. It’s not something you know with your brain. It’s not a passive “oh, I get it” kind of thing.
The original Greek word is “syniemi” (συνίημι).
The literal meaning is to put together, to bring together. To integrate.
The truth of the Word cannot merely be comprehended with your brain. It has to be integrated into your life, into who you are. It has to become absorbed within you and become part of you.
That’s how the Word changes you – it goes deep into your existence, it challenges you, shapes you, it changes who you are. It grows in you and makes you grow into someone different.
Understanding requires a wholehearted commitment of your whole self. It requires active yearning and seeking to make that truth a part of your life. It is a combination of will and seeking.
The psalmist said it this way:
Give me understanding, that I may keep your law and observe it with my whole heart. (Psalm 119:34)
Understanding, then, is more of a spiritual condition than knowledge. A spiritual condition of yearning and seeking after God’s truth with your whole heart, and the desire to make God’s truth your own.
Hence my question: what kind of heart are you coming into this sermon with?
Do you come with a heart that is eager and yearning to hear what God has to say? That’s the soil that will allow the seed to bear fruit.
In between the parable and Jesus’ explanation of it, the disciples asked Jesus why he spoke to them in parables.
This is what he said:
The reason I speak to them in parables is that ‘seeing they do not perceive, and hearing they do not listen, nor do they understand.’ (Matthew 13:13)
They might hear the Word, but they do not really listen. Nor do they understand.
Instead, Jesus says this:
With them indeed is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah that says: ‘You will indeed listen but never understand, and you will indeed look but never perceive. For this people’s heart has grown dull, and their ears are hard of hearing, and they have shut their eyes, so that they might not look with their eyes, and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn— and I would heal them.’ (Matthew 13:14-15)
This people’s hearts have grown dull. That was what Jesus saw clearly. Dull hearts prevent listening and true understanding.
That was true in Jesus’ time, and I think it accurately portrays us today.
When I look around us, there is soooo much content. So much advice. So many experts.
I remember when TED Talks came out. People were so impressed. Experts would give insights into various topics. They became sought after and heavily watched. But then they started proliferating. They popped up everywhere.
Now it’s all background noise.
This past week, me and some of the camp counsellors were talking about TV. Back in the day: TV an event – waiting – anticipating – blocking off time. The episode would remain: remember the story, talk about it, wait for next.
Netflix: remember when first came out – Deb and I married; it was exciting.
Now: unending flood of content, everything on demand. No anticipation, no lingering – just onto the next thing.
I feel it’s that way with everything now. Podcasts: same thing – used to be exciting, now can’t listen to anything.
Too much content everywhere and anywhere has dulled our hearts. Nothing inspires us. Something might tickle our hearts for a second, but then it’s onto the next.
Nothing lingers in the heart. Nothing moves us any more.
For the Word of God to bear fruit, it needs to linger in the heart. It needs time and room to grow deep roots.
If we’re not careful, we approach the Word of God with dull hearts that block true understanding. Sermons and even the Bible itself can be just another piece of content. In one ear then out the other.
Sometimes, that’s what I feel from this pulpit.
I can see that people are hearing what I’m saying, but are they really hearing? Are they understanding? Are they eagerly absorbing it into their very souls? Or maybe it touches you for a moment, but then it leaves as soon as you leave this place.
It’s a hard world to be good soil. There are too many thorns and weeds and rocks. Too many things that choke out the Word of God. Too much to keep our hearts focused on seeking the Word of God.
But the Word of God is too precious, too valuable to let the birds just snatch away.
Farmers – real farmers – work so hard to create good soil. They often work through harsh conditions: no rain, bad storms, weeds and thorns. But they work so hard because their very lives depend on it. No harvest, no livelihood, no life.
We need to approach the Word of God in the same way. As if your very life depends on it. Because it does. No fruit, no true life – just bare existence.
The Word of God is treasure for our life, food for the soul and power for life. It is worth fighting for – it is worth working for.
How can we be good soil?
Our dull hearts need to become alive again so that they’re ready to receive God’s Word. We need to remove all the weeds, thorns and other things that make the soil bad. We need to let the soil breathe so that the Word of God can grow.
How can we make our dull hearts alive again?
I want to make one concrete suggestion for this week: Make a conscious decision to reduce a certain amount of time you spend on your device each day consuming content.
Decide how much and stick to it: If it’s one hour, thirty minutes, or even five minutes.
The next thing: that time you would spend on your device, spend it being fully present with someone in an intentional way. Whether a family member, friend or even stranger – no phone next to you, just fully focused on that person.
That real-world, fully present interaction will begin to remove the dullness of your heart. Prepare it to receive God’s Word. And as your heart becomes awake, come to church or read the Word with eager anticipation, fully awake to what God may say to you.
Camp counsellors: one of the best youth spiritual development programs. Why? Because eight hours a day – no device, fully present with kids.
End of week debrief: Shared joys and what they learned: how much they enjoyed getting to know kids. I could feel hearts being moved and coming alive, ready to receive the Word of God.
We don’t become good soil overnight. It takes work, discipline and diligence. But God is with us. God will help you.
Seek after the Word of God with all your heart. And like a seed, it will grow in you and produce marvelous fruit.
Leave a Reply