(Matt. 13:1-9; 18-23)-(Hag. 2:19--"JUST SOW AS YOU GO"! or "IS THE SEED YET IN THE BARN?"            (Use corn kernels and a sack!)
In Jeremiah 17:9, God tells us the absolute truth about our wicked hearts. Notice, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?"...The question for you this morning is this...."HOW WELL DO YOU KNOW YOUR OWN HEART?   Even though few men ever grasp the awful reality of their heart's condition. God already knows all about it. He tells us this in Jeremiah 17:10, "I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings." He knows everything there is to know about us. And, as one reads this Parable of the Sower, we learn the lesson of his omniscience even more!
I. (v. 3)-- A SOWER --(In the work of the Sower, there are three lessons that become clear.)
A. There Is A Lesson In Devotion - The Sower must be absolutely dedicated to his work. He knows that if he doesn't sow, there will be no harvest. In the work of the Kingdom, it is imperative that those who sow the Gospel seed be devoted to the work. Without witnesses, there will be no harvest!   These days, there is a desperate lack of good, devoted witnesses who are willing to go out and sow the seed of the Gospel!   Notice, this man sowed as he "went forth." (his method?  SOW AS YOU GO!)   When was the last time you went forth in the spirit of Psalm 126:6, "He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him."?) 
B. There Is A Lesson In Discipline - The Sower must discipline himself to the work of sowing. There will be days when he doesn't feel like going into the field, but he goes anyway. He knows that without him going forth and sowing that the field will never become the harvest.    We can sit here in the church while the world goes to Hell and act as if we do not care. But there will come a day of reckoning before the Lord and there will be an accounting if the seed is found to be still in the barn! Hag. 2:19a, "Is the seed yet in the barn?")
C. There Is A Lesson In Discouragement - As the Sower scattered his seed, he must have known that only about 25% would grow up to bear fruit. Yet, he continued to go forth and sow the seed. The Sower knew that even though 75% of his seed would never bear fruit, he had to sow it anyway. Else, the harvest would never be! Our duty in the church is to go forth and obey the Lord's command to spread the Gospel, Matt. 28:19-20. Growing the church is the Lord's obligation. If we will do our part and sow, He will do His part and bring the harvest in its time!   By the way, sowing isn't just for the preachers and other paid workers. Every Christian is to be a sower of the Good News - Matt. 4:19; Acts 1:8.
II. (v. 4)-- SOME SEED--(Ill. There are three quick lessons to notice about the seed.)
A. Its Worth - The seed is the Gospel, Luke 8:11. When we go forth and bear the precious seed of the Gospel, we are carrying the most important message the world has ever heard. It is a living, powerful message! It is a message that the world needs to hear! (Healed the leper, Raised the dead, the universe was created by the WORD OF HIS POWER!)
B. Its Weight - The message of the Gospel has tremendous power! Just as seed can transform a barren field into a place of live and blessing, the Gospel can transform a dead and dry life into something that can bless men and glorify God.-(Ask Zaccaeus, Paul & Silas, The woman at the well, the Dying theif , Lazerus...if the message of the gospel has any WEIGHT to it!)
C. Its Work - When the Gospel seed lands in good soil, it will do it work! It will change every life it touches! By the way, it will work the same for every man because the LIFE IS IN THE SEED-(it often lies dormant, until magically it reaches for the sun!)
III. (v. 4-8)-- DIFFERENT SOILS--(Here is where we get to the heart of the message and the heart of the message is a message about the heart. One of these soils mentioned represents your heart. You are on display here in the Word of God)
A. (v. 4, 19)-- Hard Soil - As the Sower sowed, some of his seed fell on the hard packed pathway. This seed was never allowed to get into the ground where it could germinate. It lay there exposed and was eventually carried away by the birds.-(Some of you think my preaching is FOR THE BIRDS!)   The picture here is of that person who hears the Word of God, but refuses to allow that Word access into his heart. It isn't that this person can't receive the message, rather, it is that he won't! He has hardened his heart against the call of God for repentance and salvation. And, just like the birds in the parable, Satan is more than willing to help this person go forward in their hardness by stealing away the unheeded Word from their hearts.)This is a very serious condition in which to find yourself! A heart that is hardened against the Gospel is a heart that, if unchanged, will eventually find itself in Hell! God's advise to the hard hearted is this: "Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain righteousness upon you." Hosea 10:12. If you have allowed your heart to become hard, please listen afresh to the call of Jesus.  This type of life/soil produces no fruit! The hard-hearted person in this parable is not a child of God!
B. (v. 5-6, 20-21)-- The Rocky Soil - This is soil that is shallow and filled with rocks. There is no depth here. The seeds fall on the shallow, rocky soil and quickly germinate. However, before they can produce fruit, the sun beats down upon them and because there are no roots which can tap into a source of life, they die.  This type of soil pictures the heart of a person who hears the Gospel, understands it and desires the benefit of it, yet they are shallow in their commitment and never truly believe unto salvation. It seems that they respond not out of conviction, but from some other motive. Perhaps it is a desire to belong, or just wanting to bear the name of Jesus supposing that it brings some benefit or the other. Whatever the motive or reason, the results are the same! When the sun rises, simply put, when trouble comes into this person's life, he/she will flee from their profession and will go back to the world. Sometimes, there will a call to sacrifice or to follow Jesus without reservation and this type heart cannot stand the heat. The false professor will then wither away and drop out. This seed never produced any fruit, and without fruit, there is no salvation!!!-(Have you ever made it to first base with God by winning a sinner to Christ?---(As one man put it....."You can't tell how much gas is in the tank by how loud the horn honks!")
C. (v. 7, 22)-- Thorny Soil - This is soil that is unprepared for seed and is covered with weeds. There is ground here, and the seed is received and germinates, but as soon as the plant begins to grow, the weeds overpower the plant and destroy it.  This soil represents the type of heart that responds to the Gospel in a positive manner and gives every indication that it is sincere and valid. However, it isn't long until the desires of the flesh or the cares of the world cause this person to turn from their profession and to return to the world they were asked to leave behind. This is the type of person who claims Christ, but demonstrates no change of life. And again, this is a life of an unbeliever, there is absolutely no fruit being produced for God!--(Many who have prayed in THIS ALTAR fit this profile!)
D. (v. 8, 23 Good Soil) - This is soil that has been broken up, plowed under and tilled in preparation for the seed. When the seed lands in this type of soil, it finds a fertile place in which to germinate. There are no hard spots, they have all been broken apart. There are no rocks, they have been removed and the soil is deep. There are no weeds, they too have been plowed away in readiness for the coming of the seed. When the seed germinates here, it produces a plant that grows strong and one which in the end, produces abundant fruit. This is the kind of soil every farmer longs to plant his crop in.  This soil represents that person who's heart is soft and yielding to the call of the Spirit of God. This heart has seen the vanity of riches and the flesh life. This heart responds because it wants to be right with God. It comes because it knows it is wrong, and the only way to be right is to yield to God. When the Gospel enters this heart, there is a life change and there is an amazing difference. This life produces fruit in abundance. This is the life of a saved individual!)  If you'll notice in v. 23, not all plants yielded the same amount of fruit. Some were far more abundant than other, but the point is, that all of them were fruitful to one degree or another.
Of the 25% that bore fruit in this story, all of it was abundant! 30 fold is a 3,000% increase, 60 fold is 6,000% and 100 fold is 10,000%. What this tells the sower is that if we will do our little part. Just "sow as we go and scatter Gospel seed everywhere, God will take that effort and will produce a harvest that only eternity itself will begin to unfold for us! (Ill. One corn seed can grow a plant that will bear thousands.) Therefore, go with the Gospel and share it joyfully with a lost and dying world!)  The bottom line is this: If there is no fruit, there is no salvation! Is your life bearing fruit for the glory of the Lord. In conclusion, have you had a glimpse of your heart today? What kind soil are you? If you have allowed you heart to become calloused and hard, then you need to let God do His work in your life. If you have made a shallow profession in the past, but have never brought forth fruit and you know you are still lost, then come to Jesus and receive Him into your heart. If you made a profession and never really turned lose of the world or the flesh and you stopped short of a total commitment to Jesus, now is the time to come to Him and get that settled today. If you are found to be good soil, then rejoice in the saving grace of Jesus and come before Him with a thankful and grateful heart this morning.  How well do you know your heart?