The Sower and His Seed

Sermon Topic, Sunday 5/12/13 Elder Dennis Trudgen
Dennis started with a warm Happy Mothers’ Day!! to all the Moms in the congregation, and showed some lovely images of motherhood and what it means to him.
Luke 14:26 … If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. (Strong’s G3404, miseo, “to detest” or by extension “to love less”)
Matthew 13:18-23 … the sower and the seed … the disciples asked Jesus what this story really means, and Jesus answered.
The first group (the seed that fell by the wayside) … those who hear and do not understand. The seed does not take root and is immediately stolen away by the enemy.
The second group (the seed that fell on stony ground) … those who hear and receive the Word with joy, but it does not get deeply rooted in them. It sprouts and grows, but these are easily offended by tribulation or persecution, and their faith withers and dies. Those who are easily offended … what are we supposed to do? TALK it out … not walk away, or go to the “rumor mill”. As an illustration from the garden, consider the difference between a plant with shallow roots, and a plant with a deep tap root … it’s a lot harder to get rid of a burdock or clover than most crop plants , right?
The third group (the seed that fell among weeds) … those who hear the Word, but the cares of the world and their love of riches chokes it out.
Note, that all three of these groups were LOST.
The fourth group (the seed that fell on good ground) … those who hear the Word, receive it with joy, and nurture it so it grows and develops, and bears fruit abundantly.
Alma 16:151-153 … what does it mean to “not have root in oneself”? … Desire is the first step toward Christianity. Not casting out the seed, but giving it place in us; so it begins to swell and sprout. 163-182 … Is your knowledge then perfect? no……. this is exercising your faith. We must NURTURE that seed. If we neglect it … it will not have root. It will be easily scorched, and easily plucked up and cast away.
What’s in our lives? If it’s not right, it needs to be PUT OUT of our lives. That fruit will grow in us IF we nurture it, and then it will FEED our souls (verse 173)
The Zoramites had cast the poor class out of the synagogues. The haughty rich, who glorified themselves from the Rameumptom, rejected the Gospel. The poor class were humbled, and ready to receive it. The Zoramites had made the error of thinking that God only heard them once a week on that platform … God hears us, and we can worship Him, everywhere and at all times. Verse 130-131 … if you think you can only worship one day of the week, you are wrong.
2 Nephi 13:23-14:7 THE WAY of salvation … how to nurture that seed (see also Matthew 7:14, the narrow way; and John 14:6, I AM the Way)
Is all done? no…… we still sin, still deviate. We still have our free will. We are not saved by righteousness but by grace. He favors some (not all are saved, He does not save everyone IN their sins) … we must continue in faith, steadfast in hope and charity … that’s how the seed grows. Feasting on the words of Christ, enduring in the Word … not just one hour, one day of the week – that’s not feasting on His Word, that’s not nurturing the seed.
After entering in by the Way … after we have been given gifts at the beginning, we are given other gifts as we need them, as we fast and pray. These gifts are given to individuals and to the church. If we are given a gift and don’t exercise it, the church suffers. 14:4 … how do we feast upon the Word if we don’t study and attend church?
If you WILL enter in, the Holy Spirit will tell you and show you what He wants you to know … He will NEVER force you. (the enemy will also whisper to you)
2 Timothy 2:15 … Paul counsels Timothy not to let others intimidate him because of his young age, but to STUDY to show himself approved. We are responsible to read, study, and rightly divide the Word. We may be the only chance some people have to hear and see the Word.
Jacob 5:1, 3, 38 … Sherem came FLATTERING, to OVERTHROW the doctrine of Christ … after his downfall and death, peace and the love of God were RESTORED
(Sherem’s attitude still exists, and his course of action is still happening … this exerpt is from Ken Ham’s blog on Answers in Genesis, talking about Madalyn Murray O’Hair’s son Bill Murray … in his book “My Life Without God”, he recounts an experience with his mother’s atheist group:
I wrote to them asking for support of positive rather than negative atheism. I suggested we use funds to establish atheist chairs at universities rather than to sue to have religious chairs removed. I recommended the construction of monuments and hospital wings.
A handful of people sent contributions out of habit. But the overwhelming majority of those who answered my letter pelted me with such abuse that I was stunned. Over and over I read that the principal goal of atheism was the destruction of religion and that this was no time to build. [Bill Murray is now a Christian] msl)
Alma 12:4 … the sons of Mosiah, and Alma Jr., were men of sound understanding. They taught with power and authority … another gift. They searched the Scriptures diligently, prayed, fasted … nurturing the seed.
Luke 14:16-35 … the statement we started with. A man had prepared a great banquet and invited a lot of guests … but the guests declined, for various reasons. They all had good excuses, right? …..right? verse 25, the statement, and Jesus’ explanation. If we start the course, we must count the cost and be ready to endure, or we will be like the seeds that fell on stony ground. We must FORSAKE the things in our lives that keep us from keeping our commitment that we made at our baptism. The salt in verse 34 … those who made the commitment but didn’t finish.
Feasting … what does it mean? as above … What’s our excuse for not feasting? Don’t have internet? What else are you spending on? Job works you late on Saturday, or on Sunday? Think Sunday School is just for the kiddies? Tuesday night—what else is on?
Revelation 7:16-17 … feast on the WORD. (Psalm 34:8 … O taste and see that the Lord is GOOD msl)