Sow What?
Speaker: Pastor Darin Browne
God has been speaking to me about our destiny this year. It might feel to some like we have had a few setbacks, but in God, a setback is just a set up for a comeback. If we are faithful, I have God’s promise that this is going to be a phenomenal year of Kingdom Growth.
Last year we sowed. We sowed money, time and effort into our city and our community. The church built a Coffee Shop, a health hub and through Lily House we built Grace Haven Cottages, five homes for women escaping domestic violence. We sowed and sowed. But now I want to reap. This year, if we are faithful, we can move from sowing to reaping, and we will reap a Kingdom harvest of souls.
Mark 4:3-9
“Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it. Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil. And when the sun rose, it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away. Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. And other seeds fell into good soil and produced grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.” And he said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
LET IT SOW, LET IT SOW, LET IT SOW
You don’t have to speculate about what Jesus is saying in this parable, because He explains it in detail. This morning, I want to share what I think He is saying to us at Ignite.
Mark 4:11 (Jesus said)
And he said to them, “To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables,
In all His parables, and this one in particular, Jesus reveals the secrets to Kingdom Growth.
THE SEED
The first thing is that the seed is the Word of God. It’s truth, it is life, it stands forever.
Isaiah 40:8
The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.
Note also that the Word is sown generously. The sower does not put a little here and a little there, it is liberally distributed, offered generously to all kinds of people in all kinds of situations. God’s grace is free, and it is freely given.
SOW, WHERE TO FROM HERE?
In this parable, Jesus reveals why the Word of God produces different results in different people. The difference here is not the seed, the Word of God is perfect. It is not the sower, for God is perfect and faithful.
Psalms 18:30
This God – his way is perfect; the word of the LORD proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.
The problem, the difference, is the soil. Today I ask, what kind of soil are you?
1: A HARDENED HEART – THE PATH
Mark 4:14-15
The sower sows the word. And these are the ones along the path, where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them.
Some seed falls along the path. It is on the soil, but it cannot penetrate, it cannot sink in, and it is quickly taken away. This represents a heart that is hard, that is closed off, distracted, or resistant. The Word is heard but not welcomed.
I used to think that this represented unbelievers, and it describes them, but I suspect Jesus here was talking here about believers. Ones who sit in church, go through the motions, but never really commit to doing anything for God. The danger here is not rejection, they hear and acknowledge that Word of God, it’s indifference. They hear God’s Word week in, week out, month in, month out, but it never penetrates. Why?
Perhaps they have heard the message too often. Or they think to themselves, I already know this stuff. That’s pride, pure and simple. Perhaps they heart has been hardened by hurt and bitterness, or a lack of faith, or from not getting what they want from God.
YOU CAN BE FRUITFUL
Hosea 10:12
Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap steadfast love; break up your fallow ground, for it is the time to seek the LORD, that he may come and rain righteousness upon you.
If you sense that your heart is hard, please don’t just accept it. If you’re carrying hurt and pain, don’t close off to what God is doing. Fallow ground is productive soil, it should be able to bear much fruit, but it has been neglected, so it has a hard crust and God’s Word that falls on it never even germinates. It is stolen by the birds of the air. I urge you, if you find yourself upset, angry at God, angry at church, angry at some person who let you down, bitter or neglectful, please allow His Spirit to break up the fallow ground today. You can be fruitful, but not until you break up the hard, crusty exterior.
2: A SHALLOW HEART – THE ROCKY SOIL
Mark 4:16-17
And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy. And they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away.
The second seed falls on rocky ground. It springs up quickly, but with no deep roots, it withers under pressure. This represents a heart that is enthusiastic, but shallow. There is joy at first, but no endurance. There are all the good intentions in the world, but no result.
This often boils down to what your faith is built on. If it is built on emotions, or convenience, or God blessing your life and giving you what you want, if that is your focus, then you might respond positively, until you face some measure of difficulty. Your faith will be fickle, and your fruit in the Kingdom, if any, will be short lived.
Is your faith rooted deeply enough to endure hardship, or does it disappear when life gets difficult? On the Sunshine Coast, we see a myriad of people moving from church to church. They go to one church, until they encounter something they don’t like, then they move to another church. Until they have a problem there.
I am not suggesting staying in a dying church, but please plant yourself where you can grow, and grow strong. In three weeks, we are launching our new Life Groups, so every person has the chance to be planted and grow strong in the Kingdom and the Word. If you want to be less shallow and fickle as a Christian, stick around.
3: A DIVIDED HEART – THE THORNY SOIL
Mark 4:18-19
And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.
Some seed falls among thorns. It grows, it looks good for a time, but it is choked by cares, worries, fears and the desire for wealth and comfort, and ultimately becomes unfruitful. This represents a heart that starts well but is crowded out.
James 1:7-8
For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
This heart is divided. God’s Word is present, but so are worries, wealth, busyness, and competing priorities. The plant is alive, but it never flourishes and never produces fruit. This is one of the most dangerous soils because it looks healthy from the outside.
This describes many people in the Church today. They love God, attend church, but they are preoccupied with the cares of this world, with making money and being busy. They do not “not” love God, they are just too busy, too distracted. Is this you?
WANT TO SERVE THE LORD?
Many times, in church we want to serve the Lord, but we just cannot see how we can do this, and so we get busy doing lots of other things, that are good but not eternal.
2 Corinthians 4:18
as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.
This year there will be clear and ample opportunities to serve God and impact the Kingdom of God in Nambour. The only thing stopping you is you. Can you prioritise Kingdom Growth instead of the things all of us normally chase?
Matthew 6:31-33
Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
4: AN OBEDIENT HEART – THE GOOD SOIL
Mark 4:20
But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.”
A receptive and obedient heart brings God much joy. If you want to bless the Lord, have a receptive and obedient heart, because this is the good soil He seeks. Look at the harvest it produces…it grows, matures, and produces a harvest – thirty, sixty, even a hundredfold.
Good soil is not perfect soil, but it is receptive, patient, and obedient soil. This is the heart that hears the Word, holds onto it, and seeks God with all its heart, trusting Him to do whatever He deems necessary, including pruning back, to bring about abundant fruit.
I feel like this is exactly where we are as a church. The soil is good here at Ignite, but over the last few months we have had a pruning back. This is not bad news, its good news, because Jesus said…
John 15:1-2
I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.
So today I am calling you to be good soil, to allow Kingdom Growth in and through you in 2026. To join us this year as we see God pour out His Spirit, thirty, sixty, one hundredfold!
PREPARING THE SOIL
The good news in this message is that soil can change. Hardened hearts can be softened. Shallow faith can grow deeper. Crowded, divided hearts can be reordered and reprioritised. God is still sowing today, and the Word is still powerful. The only question is: How will we receive it?
1 Corinthians 3:7-9
So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labour. For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building.
For an abundant harvest, the soil must be changed. The hard surface must be broken up, it has to have the seeds of thorns and rebellion removed, and it must be watered. As we launch into this year, I want to water the soil at Ignite right now.
PRAYER CHANGES THINGS
1 John 5:14-15
And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.
I am asking God for Kingdom Growth this year, and I am confident that He is ready, right now, to pour out His Spirit and blessing upon us and our city of Nambour. God is looking for people to stand in the gap for their community, and that’s us this year! And it can be you this year, if you are willing!
EVERY MOVE OF GOD IS BIRTHED IN PRAYER
Let me share an experiment Kevin Davis shared with me.
A church in Phoenix, Arizona, conducted an experiment, what scientist call a double-blind study. Intercessors randomly selected 160 names from the local phone book, dividing them into two groups – and prayed regularly for one of the groups, for eighty homes. The other eighty homes were not prayed for. After ninety days they called every home, offering to stop by and pray for the family. Of the eighty homes they didn’t pray for, only one person invited them to come in. Of the eighty homes that were prayed for, 69 invited someone to come over and 45 invited them into their home.
Intercession makes a difference.
In a similar experiment, a church in India picked two villages, praying for one of them only. When they later went to share the gospel, the village they had not prayed for threw them out. In the other village, the one they had prayed for, 45 families became believers.
Over the last few months, our intercessors have made me aware of certain demonic activity trying to infiltrate our church and bring an unholy influence, over our leadership and the vision God has called us to here. A few days ago, I read the disciples questioning Jesus…
Mark 9:28-29
his disciples asked him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?” And he said to them, “This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer.”
Prayer is the key to what God is about to do, so today I am calling you to pray.
I AM ASKING YOU TO PRAY, (AND EVEN FAST), FOR A KINGDOM HARVEST
Luke 10:2
And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest.
Today I am asking you to join with me in prayer as we move into this New Year. Our vision remains the same, “Real People, Real Community, Real God.” We must pray that our real God will penetrates this community and ask God for wisdom as to how we do this.
We launch our Life Groups in just three weeks, but for right now in this preparation time, I am calling the church to pray earnestly in preparation for this year. To seek the Lord, to intercede for our town, our people, our church. I’m asking you to pray every day through this list. Maybe you can fast, and it doesn’t have to be food. You can fast FaceBook (not a bad idea), fast TV. Fasting is simply giving up something so that your mind and heart can focus on God and His mission.
So, as we face what I believe will be the most fruitful year we have ever seen for Kingdom Growth, I am calling all of us to pray and pray earnestly that we might bear Kingdom fruit in Nambour and across our greater community.
If you are prepared to join us as we reach our community for Christ, I’m going to ask you to stand with us right now.