This morning, I want to change things up a bit. Cleve is coming to read this morning’s scripture, which can be found in Matthew 13:1-9 and 18-23:

 1 Later that same day Jesus left the house and sat beside the lake. 2 A large crowd soon gathered around him, so he got into a boat. Then he sat there and taught as the people stood on the shore. 3 He told many stories in the form of parables, such as this one:

 ”Listen! A farmer went out to plant some seeds. 4 As he scattered them across his field, some seeds fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate them. 5 Other seeds fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The seeds sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow. 6 But the plants soon wilted under the hot sun, and since they didn’t have deep roots, they died. 7 Other seeds fell among thorns that grew up and choked out the tender plants. 8 Still other seeds fell on fertile soil, and they produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted! 9 Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.”

18 “Now listen to the explanation of the parable about the farmer planting seeds: 19 The seed that fell on the footpath represents those who hear the message about the Kingdom and don’t understand it. Then the evil one comes and snatches away the seed that was planted in their hearts. 20 The seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy. 21 But since they don’t have deep roots, they don’t last long. They fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God’s word. 22 The seed that fell among the thorns represents those who hear God’s word, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life and the lure of wealth, so no fruit is produced. 23 The seed that fell on good soil represents those who truly hear and understand God’s word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted!”

    This morning before we go any further, I want to delve into God’s Word. I want to share with you heart to heart – pastor to congregation. One of my prayers early on in my ministry here (and still is) that Satan would not get his foot in the door of our church. (You will notice that I say our church, because I mean it is our church – together for the gospel of Christ.) The Lord has called us here – He has not released us from the ministry of Preston Wesleyan Church. This is our church – you and me and my family’s church. This is where we worship together – this is where we fellowship together – this is where we disciple together – this is partially where we minister together (Because as Christ’s disciples – as followers of Christ — our ministry should not stop when we leave the building.)

    Why am I sharing so honestly with you? Because I believe that we have reached a point where Satan desires to sift us like wheat. Several weeks ago someone mentioned to me that they believe our church is dying. I’m no coroner, but I know that Preston Wesleyan Church is not dead – this isn’t time to start preparing the funeral. I believe (I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again) Preston Wesleyan Church’s best days are ahead of us.

    I’m sharing with you, because I believe we have hit a bump in the road. This morning’s scripture points out what happens when seed is planted – we have heard Jesus’ description of the parable – but what if we applied it to the church? More specifically, what if we applied to people who have received the gospel and start attending church? There are several types of soil mentioned here:

• The hard foot-worn path soil that nothing can penetrate.
• The shallow soil that is rocky underneath
• The seed that fell among the thorny weeds
• The fertile soil.

There are believers who are just like these soils. Some are hard and battle-worn – some are shallow – some have fallen among thorny weeds – and some are fertile and produce fruit. This morning some of you may think I’m trying to create more controversy. I am not and in reality, I’m not a person who enjoys controversy. I don’t typically go looking for a fight. One of the things I want you to know is that pastors and their families are people just like you, except that we have been called to shepherd and pastor a local congregation (something we call the Church). I have reminded the board and I say it to the congregation who has gathered here this morning that I still remember what it was like to be a lay-person – in fact, that’s one of the reasons that I like being a bi-vocational pastor. I know what it’s like to deal with people outside the church every day. I rub shoulders with those outside these four walls just as you do. And yet, God has called me to be more than a lay-person – He has called me to be a pastor. Guess what? I make mistakes – sometimes I will frustrate you – sometimes I will make you mad – sometimes I will be your friend – sometimes I will make you happy. These things happen in a family and these things happen in a church family.

Let’s take a look at the four types of soil this morning.

The hard, foot-worn soil – This is the person who has put in their time. They’ve worked hard for the Lord and hard for the Church all these years. They have the battle-scars to prove it as well. Sometimes working a long time for the Lord can be hazardous to your spiritual health. I know of a pastor from our last district, who got up one Sunday and announced his resignation and his intention to quit the ministry, effective almost immediately. He said that he was tired of doing things for the church – tired of the ministry and tired in reality of being like Christ – and as far as I know has taken himself far away from anything that looks like ministry. Satan got a foothold in the door. Sometimes we forget that ministry is for the long haul and guess what in doing ministry you will get battle scars. Welcome to the ministry.

The Shallow Soil – This is the believer that never puts his roots down very far. Yes, they continue to be a believer, but every time the Christian walk gets too tough or the ministry gets a little rough, they bail out. One of the things that was emphasized at Youth Camp this past week is the importance of putting down strong roots. This means we have to get rooted in God’s Word – We have to get rooted in regular prayer. We have to get rooted in Worship, Evangelism, Fellowship, Discipleship, and Ministry. I love what the last speaker at camp talked about. He talked about how to get deep or get rooted in ministry.

First, you need to be a model. What do we need to model? We need to model Christ. We need to model what it means to be like Christ.

Second, we either need to be a mentor or we should be a mentor. This goes hand in hand with discipleship. This is iron sharpens iron. This is accountability – this is not a word we like in today’s culture. But we, each one of us needs someone to bring us along in the faith.

Third, we must have motivation. What is your motivation to serve in the ministry? What is your motivation to serve Christ? What is your motivation to model Christ?

When the going gets tough, how will you wither because you’re in shallow soil or are your roots deep?

The Thorny Soil – These Christians get caught up in the wrong things. Instead of loving God with all of their heart, mind, soul, and strength – and loving their neighbor as themselves, they get caught up in the things of this world. They get caught up in the materialism – the commercialism – money, finances, cars, anything but Christ and the church. Those things finally put a choke hold on their Christian life and they fall away. This is always a sad thing to watch happen.

Finally – the good fertile soil – This would be the Christian I would pray that each one of you is. It is the kind of soil that I desire to be as a Christian – Many times you will hear me say Christ-follower. I’ll reiterate what I said almost I year ago. My desire is to follow Christ and to love you with the love of Christ and to build Christ’s Kingdom. I have no other desire – I have no other agenda. Perhaps this is why at times I seem very passionate about things. I have a very real desire to bring people – all people – no matter what they look like – no matter what social strata they are from – no matter what – I desire to bring them into Christ’s Kingdom. Each of us has a part. I am the pastor of Preston Wesleyan Church, but each one of you is a minister of Preston Wesleyan Church from the youngest to the oldest. What you will notice is that not all fertile soil yields the same results – some soil will yield better results than others – That’s not our comparison to make, but the question becomes are you good soil and are you producing other Christ-followers?

We are now going to do something different – we are going to gather around the altar as a church – as the body of Christ. We must stick together – we must work together as a team. I am still learning – and all of us should always be learning. Not one of us has all the answers when it comes to being the church. Have we had some divisions over the past few months? Yes! This morning I want this to be a time of coming together – I want to show the Satan the door – He has no authority in our church. Christ is our authority – Christ is the one we serve – Christ is the one we follow – today and from now on.