INTRODUCTION TO SERIES
God has led me to a series focusing on the Commission of Christ to us. This will begin with a few sermons about what salvation is, true and false converts, and how to ensure that we are right with God so we can fulfill the commission given to us. We will then have a series on witnessing salvation to others.
PRAYER FOR HOLY SPIRIT AND UNDERSTANDING
SCRIPTURE READING
Matthew 13:1 – 9 The Sower and the Seed
“1 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. 2 Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. 3 Then he told them many things in parables, saying: "A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. 9 He who has ears, let him hear.”
INSTRODUCTION TO SERMON
Seed: Word of God.
I. The Seed is the Word of God
† Word of God is the Seed
† The Good News
† The Gospel of Jesus Christ
† The Gospel of Salvation
Sower: Jesus / Disciples / Us
II. The responsibility has been passed
† Jesus was a Soul-Winner
a) Christ Jesus came into the world to rescue sinners… (1 Tim 1:15)
b) …the Son of man has come to seek and save that which was lost…” (Luke 19:10)
† The Great Commission in Matthew 28
a) “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men…” (Matt 4:19)
b) “Daily in the Temple and in every house, they never stopped teaching and preaching Jesus Christ. (Acts 5:42)
c) Matthew 28 – Jesus says, “GO, Teach them how to be saved, baptize them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, THEN, teach them to obey all that I commanded.
† Matthew 28 – GO out and get them!
Field: Those we share the Word with.
III. The Mission Field
† The Harvest is Great (Matthew 9:37)
† The Laborers are few (Matthew 9:37)
We must fish where they are!
“Go to the highways and the byways and compel them to come in!” (Luke 14:23)
The Wayside: Worldly Distractions.
IV. What is in our way?
† Family – 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.”
Hate – mis-eh-o : means “to love less than”
† Work – Luke 16:13 “No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon (wealth).”
† Hobbies
† Sinful Living
† Selfishness
V. Fouls of the Air: Devils from the spirit world.
† Ephesians 6:11 – 12 “Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”
High places – ep-oo-ran-ee-os – heavenly realm, or sky.
† Ephesians 2:2 “Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:”
We see from scripture that the devil is the “prince” of the power of the air, air being a reference to the spirit world, as we saw in the previous scripture that this is where the evil we battle, demons who attack us, dwell, of which Satan is the prince.
The analogy Jesus uses in this parable is the birds of the air devouring newly planted seeds, or devils attacking new Christians.
VI. Stony Places, Not Much Soil: Poor Foundation, no roots, no water (Holy Spirit).
† Foundation other than Christ
† Foundation weak for lack of study
† No relationship with the Lord
† No reading of God’s Word or Praying
† Without roots you cannot take in water
VII. Thorns: The Lost & Carnal.
† Thorns can be your friends
† Your family
† Your co-workers
VIII. Good Soil: Foundation of Christ and the teachings of the Prophets & Apostles.
† Christ IS the foundation
† His Virgin birth, His being God, His sacrificial Death, and His resurrection is believed.
† The confession of sin, repenting of that sin, and asking for forgiveness of that sin.
† The reading of the Word of God, Prayer and a relationship with the Lord.
IX. Produces Crops: Bearing Fruit, return for investment of gifts by Holy Spirit.
† Naturally produce fruit when Spirit filled.
† Using Spiritual Gifts to achieve God’s will.
† The harder you labor in your gifts, the more fruitful your gifts become.
X. He who has ear let him hear: Not all will understand this teaching.
† Only those with the Holy Spirit understand this teaching.
† Only those with the Holy Spirit can accomplish this teaching.
† Only those with the Holy Spirit can produce Spiritual Fruit.
† Only those with the Holy Spirit can have Spiritual Gifts.
† The Foundation is Jesus Christ and the teachings of the Prophets and the Apostles
† The water is the Holy Spirit
† True Conversion is the fruit from the seed
† That fruit SHOULD bear more fruit
There are two kinds of people in the Church, those who are true converts and those who are false converts.
Next week we will take a look at the difference.
CLOSING
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