A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it. Some fell on rock; and as soon as it sprang up, it withered away because it lacked moisture. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it. But others fell on good ground, sprang up, and yielded a crop a hundredfold.” When He had said these things He cried, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” Luke 8:5-8 (read v. 4-15)

From Jesus’ parable of the sower, we learn that not all who hear the Word of God with their ears rightly receive it in faith. In fact, some who initially hear it and come to faith in Jesus fall away again; but, by the grace of God, some of the seed of God’s Word falls on good ground – prepared by the Lord – and grows and produces faith and its fruits.

As we read the parable of the sower and its explanation, we are quick to identify people we know with the poor kinds of soil and ourselves with the good ground. But, when we do this, we miss the warning and comfort of this parable for ourselves.

This parable certainly warns against being like one of the three poor kinds of soil. We may think of ourselves as the good soil, but how often do we not also fit the descriptions of the poor ground?

Many times we are like the hard ground. The Word of God is sown upon us, but it doesn’t sink in and produce fruit in our lives because we have either been uninterested or inattentive. Then the Word is snatched away by the devil.

Often we are also like the rocky soil. In times of trouble, affliction or persecution, we shrink back from a bold and faithful confession of the truths of God’s Word because we have not let that Word sink its roots deep into our lives.

When trouble comes, or persecution, we turn away in doubt and unbelief.

And how often, like the thorny ground, we let the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things in this life keep us from faithfully hearing and learning God’s Word! These things choke out the Word and keep us from living our lives by faith in Christ Jesus.

When we are good soil, we can take no credit. We must say with Jesus that it is a blessing of the Lord when the Word sinks in, grows and produces fruit in our lives (Matt. 13:16).

It is the Lord who cultivates the soil of our hearts, breaking up the hard ground, removing the rocks and pulling out the weeds, that the Gospel of forgiveness of sins and life eternal for the sake of Jesus Christ and His innocent sufferings and death on the cross might be heard and believed by us and produce fruit in our lives.

Almighty God, Thy Word is cast like seed into the ground; now let the dew of heaven descend and righteous fruits abound. Amen. The Lutheran Hymnal, Hymn #49, Verse 1

[Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.]

1 Then the Lord sent Nathan to David. And he came to him, and said to him: “There were two men in one city, one rich and the other poor. 2 The rich man had exceedingly many flocks and herds. 3 But the poor man had nothing, except one little ewe lamb which he had bought and nourished; and it grew up together with him and with his children. It ate of his own food and drank from his own cup and lay in his bosom; and it was like a daughter to him. 4 And a traveler came to the rich man, who refused to take from his own flock and from his own herd to prepare one for the wayfaring man who had come to him; but he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.” 5 So David’s anger was greatly aroused against the man, and he said to Nathan, “As the Lord lives, the man who has done this shall surely die! 6 And he shall restore fourfold for the lamb, because he did this thing and because he had no pity.” 7 Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man! Thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. 8 I gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives into your keeping, and gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if that had been too little, I also would have given you much more! 9 Why have you despised the commandment of the Lord, to do evil in His sight? You have killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword; you have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the people of Ammon. 10 Now therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised Me, and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.’ 11 Thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, I will raise up adversity against you from your own house; and I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. 12 For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel, before the sun.’” 13 So David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die. 14 However, because by this deed you have given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, the child also who is born to you shall surely die.” 15 Then Nathan departed to his house. 2 Samuel 12:1-15a

It is, many times, so much easier to see the sin in others than to see our own. We recognize the wickedness of sin in those around us in this world but fail to see the wickedness of our own sins.

After David committed adultery with Bathsheba and arranged the death of her husband Uriah in battle to cover up his sin (2 Samuel 11), the Lord God sent Nathan the prophet to David with the story of the rich man with many flocks and herds who took his poor neighbor’s one little ewe lamb to feed his guest.

And David was furious! He recognized the wickedness of this rich man and said, “As the Lord lives, the man who has done this shall surely die! And he shall restore fourfold for the lamb, because he did this thing and because he had no pity.”

Yet, David did not get the point of the story until Nathan said to him, “You are the man!”

And how often we are the same way! We read a Bible text or hear a sermon preached, and we say, “So and so sure needed to hear that message. He is guilty of sin and deserves to die!”

But God’s Word says to us, “You are the man!” While it may be true that our neighbor is guilty of sin, God’s Law reveals to us our own sin and wickedness.

Even if we haven’t sinned like David by committing adultery with a neighbor’s spouse and then covering up our sin with murder, who is innocent of sinful thoughts and desires? What man is there who has not committed adultery in his heart as Jesus defines it in Matthew 5:28: “Whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart”? And who has not been “angry with his brother without a cause” or called his neighbor a fool or emptyheaded (Matthew 5:21-22)? God says we are “in danger of hellfire”!

When we read and hear God’s holy commandments, it is not just so that we can pass judgment upon others; it’s so that we can examine ourselves and see our own sin and guilt before God. Cf. Matthew 7:3-5.

The Bible says, “Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God” (Romans 3:19). God’s Law says to us: “You are the man!” We are guilty and deserve only God’s eternal wrath and punishment!

When David confessed his sin to Nathan, saying, “I have sinned against the Lord,” Nathan told him, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die.” Though there remained consequences for his sin in this world, God pardoned and forgave David of his sins for the sake of the coming Messiah and Savior who would “redeem Israel from all his iniquities” (Psalm 130:8). David would not suffer eternal death and condemnation for his sin because, when He confessed his sin unto the Lord, the Lord forgave the iniquity of his sin (cf. Psalm 32:1-6; Psalm 51).

As God sent Nathan the prophet to David, so God sends pastors today to preach and proclaim God’s Law and say, “You are the man!” But God’s purpose and desire in sending men to preach the Law of God is that we see our sin and confess our guilt before God that the Gospel of God might be proclaimed to us and we receive in faith God’s mercy and forgiveness for Jesus’ sake. For, when we acknowledge our sinfulness before the Lord, when we acknowledge that we “have sinned against the Lord,” God’s ministers proclaim to us, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die.”

God’s ministers proclaim to us the Gospel – that Christ Jesus died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was buried and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). They proclaim to us that through faith in Christ and His atoning sacrifice upon the cross, we are “accepted in the Beloved,” that “in Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace” (Ephesians 1:6.7). They proclaim to us that we shall not die eternally but have everlasting life (cf. John 5:24).

And, in the Supper of our Lord, Christ gives to us, through His ministers, to partake of His very body and blood which were given and shed for us on the cross for the remission of all our sins. He gives us to eat of His body which was broken for us and to drink of His blood of the new covenant which was shed for us that we might be assured our sins are forgiven for the sake of His sacrifice and that, instead of death and damnation, we have life eternal in heaven for Christ’s sake.

So I ask you before God: Do you acknowledge that you are a sinner and have sinned in thought, word and deed? Do you confess and agree with God that you are guilty and deserving of his wrath and punishment? Do you trust that Christ Jesus has truly redeemed you and made atonement for all your sins? Do you also believe that Jesus, in His Supper, gives you to partake of His body and blood which were given and shed that your sins might be forgiven you? And, as a fruit of your faith, do you truly desire and seek God’s help to amend your life and live it in accord with God’s Word?

If you are truly sorry for your sins and look to Christ and His atoning sacrifice upon the cross for pardon and forgiveness, I announce unto you the grace of God and, in the stead and by the command of my Lord Jesus Christ, forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die.” Amen.

O LORD God, by the gracious working of Your Holy Spirit through the Word, grant that we see our own sin and wickedness and not just that of others, and grant that we truly repent of our sins and look to You in faith for mercy and forgiveness for the sake of Christ Jesus, our Savior. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.

[Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.]

“To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your heart, as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness: when your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my work. Forty years long was I grieved with this generation, and said, It is a people that do err in their heart, and they have not known my ways: unto whom I sware in my wrath that they should not enter into my rest.” Psalm 95:7b-11

Will you enter God’s eternal rest, or are you hardening your heart against Him? God’s Word comes to you. You have it in your Bible, and it is still preached by faithful ministers; but will you hear it and believe it?

The Children of Israel heard God’s words through Moses and even directly from God Himself on Mt. Sinai. They saw God’s mighty works in Egypt, at the Red Sea and in the wilderness. But did they believe? Did they trust in the LORD God to lead and guide them, provide for them in their journeys and bring them safely into the Promised Land?

The answer is, No! Again and again, they grumbled and complained. Again and again, they disobeyed the commandments of the LORD. And, when it was time to go up and take possession of the land the LORD was giving them, they doubted God’s Word to them and wanted to return to Egypt. Therefore, because of their unbelief, they did not enter into the promised rest.

Now the Word of the LORD comes to you. It calls you to repent of your sinful ways and rebellion against the LORD and receive forgiveness and life through faith in the shed blood of Jesus Christ, God’s own dear Son. Will you hear God’s Word? Will you acknowledge your utter sinfulness and rebelliousness before the LORD? Will you come to God and trust in Him to receive you and forgive you of all your sins because Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God in human flesh, fulfilled the righteous demands of God’s law for you and then bore your punishment upon the cross and rose again?

If you refuse to repent and turn to the Lord Jesus for mercy, you go astray in your heart. You do not know the way of the LORD, and you will not enter into His eternal rest! But if you humble yourself before the LORD, hear His Word and believe, you will receive His mercy and be blessed with the eternal joys of heaven for Jesus’ sake!

LORD God, have mercy upon us and grant that we not harden our hearts against You and the truth of Your Word. By Your Holy Spirit, grant us true repentance and faith In Jesus Christ our Savior. In His name, we pray. Amen.

[Scripture quotations are from the King James Version of the Bible.]

“O come, let us sing unto the LORD: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms. For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods. In his hand are the deep places of the earth: the strength of the hills is his also. The sea is his, and he made it: and his hands formed the dry land. O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker. For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand….” Psalm 95:1-7a

In Hosea 8:14, we read that “Israel hath forgotten his Maker.” They were still religious people, but they had forgotten who the LORD God was and how to worship and serve Him.

These words are not only true of Old Testament Israel at the time of Hosea the prophet; they are true of us today. As a nation and people, we have forgotten our Maker and we neglect to give Him the glory and praise due unto His name.

We need to remember that “the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture” (Psalm 100:3).

In spite of man’s attempts to escape this fact, the truth still remains that the LORD (Jehovah) God of the Bible (the Triune God, Father, Son and Holy Ghost) has created us and all things by His almighty word (Gen. 1-2; Neh. 9:6). It is He who formed us in our mothers’ wombs and gave us life (Ps. 139:13-16), and He it is who sustains our lives (cf. Ps. 145:15-16).

And, not only is He the Creator and Sustainer of all things, He gave His only begotten Son and redeemed us through the innocent sufferings and death of Christ Jesus that we might have forgiveness for all our sins through faith in Christ and again be alive to Him and worship His name (cf. Ps. 130:7-8; Jn. 3:16; 1 John 4:9-10; Rom. 5:8-11).

Isn’t it about time we remember our Creator; look to Him to forgive our sins for the sake of the holy life and bitter sufferings and death of the Son, Christ Jesus, and then worship and serve Him with our lives?

If we do not humbly kneel before Him now, we shall be humbled and kneel before Him on the Last Day when He executes His judgment upon all people (cf. Phil. 2:5-11; Ps. 2)!

O Almighty God, our Maker and Redeemer, for the sake of Christ Jesus, our Savior, forgive us for our many sins against You, and grant that we might kneel before You and worship You both now and forevermore in heaven! Amen.

[Scripture quotations are from the King James Version of the Bible.]

“For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. Now when he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.’ So they went. Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did likewise. And about the eleventh hour, he went out and found others standing idle, and said to them, ‘Why have you been standing here idle all day?’ They said to him, ‘Because no one hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right you will receive.’ So when evening had come, the owner of the vineyard said to his steward, ‘Call the laborers and give them their wages, beginning with the last to the first.’ And when those came who were hired about the eleventh hour, they each received a denarius. But when the first came, they supposed that they would receive more; and they likewise received each a denarius. And when they had received it, they complained against the landowner, saying, ‘These last men have worked only one hour, and you made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the heat of the day.’ But he answered one of them and said, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what is yours and go your way. I wish to give to this last man the same as to you. Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things? Or is your eye evil because I am good?’ So the last will be first, and the first last. For many are called, but few chosen.” Matthew 20:1-16

The disciples of Jesus saw the rich young man go away sadly because he was unwilling to give up his riches and follow Jesus, and they had heard Jesus’ words about how hard it is for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. Peter then asked Jesus what he and the other disciples would receive since they had left all to follow Him.

The last verses of Matthew, chapter 19, record Jesus’ answer. Here, Jesus describes the gracious reward which will be given to all who deny themselves and follow Him; but He also adds the words: “Many who are first will be last, and the last first.”

The parable of the laborers in the vineyard illustrates these words of Jesus and warns against the assumption that those who work harder, longer or give up more for Christ deserve a greater reward. In this parable, even those who were hired and began working in the vineyard at the eleventh hour received the same wages as those who had toiled for the full day. The householder graciously paid them for a full day’s work.

God also rewards those who deny themselves and labor in His kingdom, but God’s rewards are rewards of His grace and are not earned or deserved. As sinners, we do not even deserve to be in His kingdom. It is only by God’s grace in Jesus Christ — because Christ died for our sins and rose again — that we are forgiven and brought into God’s kingdom through faith in Christ.

The rewards given for labor and sacrifice in God’s kingdom are also God’s gracious gifts for Christ’s sake. If we assume that we have earned a greater reward because of our hard work in the kingdom, we are in grave danger of losing not only God’s gracious reward for our labor but our place in God’s kingdom as well; for all of this is ours by grace alone!

If one becomes a Christian late in life, works only a short time in God’s kingdom and receives a great reward, we have every reason to rejoice and praise God for the richness of His grace rather than grumble because we did not receive more.

O Father, God of Love, hear Thou my supplication; O Savior, Son of God, grant me Thy full salvation; and Thou, O Holy Ghost, be Thou my faithful Guide that I may serve Thee here and there with Thee abide. Amen. (The Lutheran Hymnal, Hymn #417, Verse 7)

[Scripture is taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.]