In the midst of thorn.

METHODIST CHURCH NIGERIA

DIOCESE OF OSOGBO

FIFTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME, 12^TH JULY, 2020.

GOD’S WORD TO GOD’S PEOPLE.

THEME: “In the midst of thorn.”

             “Laarin awon egun.”

TEXT: Matthew 13:7&22.

“And some fell among thorns and the thrones sprang up and choked them. Now he who receive seed among the thorns is he who hears the Word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the Word and he becomes unfruitful.”

“Die si bo saarin egun; nigba tie gun si dagba soke o fun won pa. Eyi pelu ti o gba irugbin saarin egun ni eni ti o gbo oro naa; aniyan aye yii, ati itanje oro si fun oro naa pa bee ni o si je alaileso.”

Jesus Christ was a great teacher who spoke the Word of God with passion great conviction and authority. He taught his followers in parables because of their sluggishness (Matt. 1:10-17) and the prophecy in Psalm 78 verse 2 that “I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings of old.” (Matt. 13:34&35). His choice of using parables to teach was not to confuse or condemn his listeners, what they wanted to know. Jesus Christ used parables to excite the interest of his followers and as well arouse their curiosity. It is believed that parables would give light to those with trusting and searching hearts. They could however bring darkness to the unconcerned and unrepentant people. Matthew Chapter 13 contains some simple but great parables of Jesus Christ in the scriptures. According to the Maxwell Leadership Bible (2^nd edition), “Jesus Christ is a master at communicating vision and his simple stories illustrate the Kingdom of heaven.” The parable of the Sower in Chapter 13 verses 1 to 9 and 18 to 23 does not begin with “The Kingdom of heaven is like” because it describes how the kingdom itself begins. Rather it starts with the preaching of the Word of God which is the same as the planting of the seed in the heart of human beings. In the parable of the Sower, the seed is the word of God; the different soils represent various kinds of hearts of people; and the different outcomes show the various responses of human beings to God’s word in this world.

Obviously, the word of God is compared to Seed, because God’s word is not the same as human beings’ word. The word of God is Jesus Christ (Jesus 1:1-4) and in him there is life and that life can be imparted to those who wish to make heaven. The word of God is truly living and most powerful (Heb. 4:12) Its truth must take root in the hearts of all hearers. It must be cultivated and allowed to bear fruit. It is therefore unfortunate and shocking to discover that most of the seed planted in Jesus’ parable did not bring forth fruit. Some did not germinate at all, while others which sprang up died at tender age. What a loss! The word of God is preached in order to get results. Fruit (results) therefore is the test of true salvation in the life of any believer (Matt. 7:16). These fruit include holiness (Rom. 6:22), Christian Character (Gal. 5:22-23), good work (Col. 1:10), soul wining (Rom. 1:13), sharing with others (Rom. 15:25-28), and praising God always (Heb. 13:15). All these and more are the expected results of the word (seed) proclaimed or preached in the power of the Holy Spirit which are well received by the hearers who allowed it to bear fruit in their lives. Men and brethren, I wish to focus on the seed which fell among the thorns (Matt. 13:7 and 22), in today’s message.

It is well known that any plant which must bear fruit, it has to be rooted in soil for nutrients and water. Its body must also be exposed to sun-light for photosynthesis to take place. My problem with the seed which fell among the thorns is how it will survive in the midst of these killer plants? In the parable of the Sower the sun represents tribulation or persecution which comes because of the gospel we preach. The heat of the sun on the plant is the persecution which comes to believers of the word of God in order to help them grow in their faith. Just as the sun-light can kill any plant which has no roots in the soil, so can persecution pull down any believer who is not well grounded in the word of God. Any believer with weak faith cannot last because his/her understanding of the word is meager and his//her decision was not sincere. Truly, it is possible for someone to accept the word, believe the word and yet not saved by the word (John 2:23:25). This is the interpretation of the last two results of the parable of the Sower, I mean those represented by the seed which fell on the rocky places and had no root, and the ones which fell among the thorns, meaning among the worries and wealth of life. When the seed on the rock finally sprang up and became plants, they stumbled, fell and died because they had no root in the soil while the rest of the plants among the thorns were choked to death by the worries and love of material wealth of the world. These are the hearers with initial interest in God’s word, but without genuine and sincere heartfelt response.

The main issue here is not the seed, but the soil and the environment of the soil on which the seed were sown. If I may ask, which soil are you and what surrounds your heart and life? The good news about Jesus Christ is one and the same everywhere. The difference is in the individual who heard, received, digest and believe the word; knowing fully well that human beings are not all the same and our responses to issues and messages (sermons) are also different. It is however sad that the response of majority to the gospel today is in the negative. It must be noted that love and cares of the things of the world destroy the word of God in our heart and result to negative attitude towards the word in our lives. In as much as persecution kills the faith of many, anxiety wealth and other worldly pursuit are more dangerous to our faith in Jesus Christ and his word, because they are not as loud as persecution in our lives. Actually, stones spoil the root, but the thorns spoil the branch, leafs and fruit at the same time. Thorns, worldly cares, are great obstacles to all that will can gain from God’s word, and our proficiency in religion. Why? The answer is not far-fetched; thorns are indeed great obstacles because:

v  They consume that strength and ability in us which should have been used for divine purposes.

v  They divert our attention from the mission of God which we are called to do.

v  They distract us from doing God’s will.

v  They help to quench the fire of the Holy Spirit in us.

v  They reduce the sparks of good affections in us.

v  They burst the cords of good resolutions us.

v  They eat up our minds and cause us to neglect the needful.

Fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters in Christ, the challenge today is for every one of us to rise, break up our fallow ground and stop sowing among thorns. Let us surrender our hearts to Jesus Christ for circumcision now, and the word of God shall begin to flourish and prosper in our lives (Jer. 4:3-4) Come for a new heart which is devoid of thorns and your life will never remain the same (Ps. 51:10). Allow God to give you a new heart today and everything about you shall become new just as it happened in the life of Saul when he was anointed king over Israel. (1Sam. 10:9) Then the world will see you in a new form with new features. Surrender yourself for this today, tomorrow may be too late.

Let us pray.

Rt. Rev. A.K.O. Ogunrinde, JP, FICT.

Bishop, Diocese of Osogbo.

OS-CAN Chairman.