The Parable of The Sower Pt 2.

This is the second part to last week’s post.

Let’s turn to Matt 13:3-9 and read it over again.

Refresh: There are 6 Components to this parable:

1. Farmer – God
2. Seed – Word of God, no matter the soil type, the seed always has the potential for bountiful harvest, seed is always good
3. Path
4. Rocky Places
5. Thorns
6. Good Soil

All of the soil types characterize the state of our hearts!

Last week we started looking at the Path found in Matt 13:3-4, today we’ll carry on and finish our discussion around this parable.

 

Rocky Soil:

Matt 13:5-6 “Some fell on rocky places where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched and they withered because they had no root.” (NIV)

What issues can we identify?

• Rocky places with little soil
• Shallow soil (heart)
• Sun comes up (persecution/trouble)
• Plants are scorched & wither
• No root system

Keep reading Matt 13:20-21 “The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away.” (ESV)

 

Botany 101

What are the components of a good root system?

The roost system provides anchor & support: root system holds the seedling in place and provides support to hold it upright.

The root system absorbs & conducts nutrients: root system absorbs nutrients from the soil and sends them up to the shoot so it can grow strong.

The root system provides storage of water and other nutrients: the root system stores vital nourishment for the seedling for continuous, stable feeding.

 

This is what Colossians 2:6-7 says, “Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him, established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.” (ESV)

The NLT puts it this way “Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.”

Paul is specifically challenging the Colossian church to stay true, he calls it being rooted, to the foundations of the faith that they had been taught. You see, our faith remains strong during times of trouble (heat) and through the winds of persecution only when we are deeply rooted in Christ.

 

What mystery does the Rocky Soil reveal?

Your root system is vital!

Hearing someone speak the word and having your heart joyfully burst in response to it isn’t enough to keep the word in your heart.

The question here is how you deal with persecution and trouble. Someone who is weak and not rooted in their faith will allow what little seed (word) that is in their heart to be plucked right out before it roots and matures as soon as they face trials and hardship.

So we see that mentorship is key to new Christians or to those whose soil (hearts) is rocky even if they’ve called themselves Christians for a long time.

Mentorship encourages those facing hardship to lean on the Lord, reminds them that he is good, that he will never leave them, that he can be trusted and there is a master plan.

 

Thorny Soil:

Matt 13:7 “Other seeds fell among the thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them.”

Let’s break this down:

• Seed fell – the word was being spoken
• The thorns were already present
• It seems as if the seed sprouted and grew but the thorns cut off their nutrient supply
• The thorns grew bigger and stronger than the seedlings, they become a natural barrier to good things growing
• The thorns are sharp and they fester when they get under your skin

What does this all mean?

Look at Matt 13:22. “As for what was sown among thorns, this is one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.”

Luke puts it this way in 8:14 “And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life and their fruit does not mature.”

At first this person embraces the message, but they do not persevere into maturity. They may listen intently to the word of God (we may see them sitting in church all their lives) and accept the word as truth. They may even understand what is being said, and so the seed begins to grow.

This is a religious person, a Christian! Someone who claims to love the Lord…but it is in appearance only.

Why?

Because as soon as they “go on their way”, leave the service, turn off the podcast, finish the conversation, they immediately forget what they heard. They allow the weight of the world to crush them again.

We’re so wrapped up in issues with money – hoarding and accumulating, with issues of pleasures – whatever makes me feel good, and with the anxieties and insecurities that have enslaved our hearts that the word of God has no power to affect change and bear fruit!

 

What mystery does the Thorny Soil reveal?

You may look and act like a Christian but if you allow the cares of life, the pursuit of money and pleasure to enslave you, the word will never bear fruit. Your life will resemble a beautiful present with a lovely bow on top but inside…empty.

The thorns were there first. We were born with a sinful nature and that’s why there is such a battle when we desire to purge it from our hearts.

 

Good Soil:

Matt 13:8 says, “Other seed fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.”

Characteristics of good soil:

• Weeded
• Rocks picked out
• Thorns pulled up
• Tilled
• Nutrient rich
• Ready for seed to be planted

Good soil heart…

This is a person who understands how to read/hear the word and apply it to their lives. They understand how to correlate the word to real life situations they are facing!

By acting on the things they read in the word a harvest is produced because of that action.

By doing what the word tells them to do their fruit will impact the lives of others, thereby producing even more fruit!

Eph 4:32 “Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, as God, in Christ, forgave you.” (ESV)

 

What mystery does the Good Soil reveal?

The word has tremendous power to bring a harvest many times it’s original size.

The soil of our hearts must be cultivated deeply and often to rid it of rocks and thorns and to tear up any path or hardness that may have built up over time.

We must pray for wisdom in understanding the word so that we can properly handle it, and above all we are to forsake everything else as being more important than knowing Christ.

 

To wrap up…

The Path Person has a hardened heart and therefore cannot understand the message being spoken.

The Rocky Ground Person has no root so as soon as trouble comes into their lives the seedling of the word withers away into obscurity and is forgotten.

The Thorn Person is overcome with the cares and worries of the world. Their pursuit of worldly desires has choked out the power of the word to transform their lives. The fruit they could produce would impact so many others, but it lays dormant and idle under the blanket of selfishness.

The Good Soil Person diligently deals with sin in their lives. They pursue the Lord with all of their hearts and their lives are a testimony to a deep and abiding relationship with him.

We see that the key to all soil types (hearts) is their ability to produce fruit or not. To have something to harvest in their lives or not. To impact their generation or not. To spread truth or not. To deepen their faith or not.To trust more or not. To soften their hardened hearts or not. To lay aside the cares of the world or not. To love Jesus more each day or not.

Charles Spurgeon says it this way, if the gospel (seed) produces in you holiness and love for God and man, then we know there is good soil in you: but if you are merely “promising” people, but not “performing” people then we know that the ground of your heart is hard, stony or thorny.

James 1:22 says, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.”

I challenge you today to let the word of God fall deeply into your heart. Root out every rock or thorn you encounter in your life. Pray that the word would help you till up every hardened path you’ve laid down.

Only good soil produces a crop. Only good soil promises a harvest of fruit. Be that.