The Parable of the Sower II

Mark 4:13-20

If you brought your bibles turn with me over to the gospel of Mark chapter four. The gospel of Mark chapter four and in a moment we are going to read verses 13-20 of the gospel of Mark chapter four.

We are continuing our study in the gospel of Mark. Last week we spoke about this amazing parable that Jesus was teaching the crowds.

We call it the parable of the sower. But it is sometimes referred to as the parable of the soils because that is a better description of what it is about. It is about the human heart and our ability to receive the Word of God.

Last week we talked about the purpose of this parable. The purpose was to separate believers from unbelievers. Those who would listen to what Jesus had to say and grow in their faith, from those who would not.

Now this morning, what we will do, is listen in, as Jesus gives the explanation of this parable to His disciples.

The disciples have come to Him privately, they don’t understand what they have heard, they ask Him to explain this to them, and that is what He is going to do now in Vs. 13-20.

What we learn from this passage is our ability to receive the Word of God determines the growth of our Spirit.

Mark 4:13–20 KJV

And he said unto them, Know ye not this parable? and how then will ye know all parables? The sower soweth the word. And these are they by the way side, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts. And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness; And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word’s sake, immediately they are offended. And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word, And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful. And these are they which are sown on good ground; such as hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred.

Lets pray together.

Father, I pray we could all be fruit bearing Christians. I pray we would all hear your word and evaluate our heart and have a desire to grow!!

I pray this morning you would make your Word clear as it is preached. Teach us what you would have us to see, know, and understand. In Jesus name I pray, Amen!!

  I think one of the most important questions we can ask ourselves is, am I a fruit bearing Christian? Is the Word of God making a difference in my life?

Jesus would tell us in  John 15:8, “By this my Father is glorified that you bear much fruit, so you will be my disciples.”

That means the way that we know we are disciples of Christ is we bear fruit for the Kingdom of God. But, how do we do that?

 Jesus makes it clear by His explanation of this parable, it is by receiving His Word.

 Each one of us have been chosen by God to have a relationship with Him. The Word is planted in you like a seed and is meant to grow and produce fruit in your life.

It is meant to produce the fruit of; love, peace, joy, kindness, gentleness, and self -control. What God wants from our lives is that we would become useful, productive Christians.

Just like a plant or a flower grows when it is exposed to sunlight and it soaks up nutrients from the ground.  As Christians, we grow in a relationship with God when we are exposed to the Jesus, and we soak up His Word.

That is why Jesus calls Himself the Living Water and the Light of the World. We grow in our faith when we absorb Him into our lives, and we live for Him.

That is what makes one person sitting here listening to this message different from someone else. One person will hear the message and someone else will not. One person will grow, and someone else will not.

And Jesus teaches us that in this parable. He teaches us our ability to receive the Word of God determines the growth of our Spirit.

The first thing I want you to see in this passage is; this is A Foundational Parable Vs. 13

Jesus begins by asking two important questions. “Do you not understand this parable? How will you understand all the parables?

  In other words, Jesus is saying you must get this right first. If you do not get this right, then everything following this will fail. This is the most important parable of all the parables. This parable will teach you that you must receive the Word of God in your heart to live a productive Christian life.

  Matthew echoes this same thought when he records the words of Jesus in Matthew 7:24. He says, a wise man is the one who builds his house on the rock. The one who hears my Words and puts them into practice.  

Jesus is teaching His disciples this same principle here in our passage. You must get this right. You must hear and understand the Word of God. It is the foundation of what it means to be a Christian.

Verse 14 simply says, “The Sower sows the Word.” Again, notice Jesus does not even identify Himself as the sower, but He does identify the seed.

The seed is the Word. We know Jesus is the sower, but He does not announce that because He does not want to take the focus off of our heart.

 We learn from verse 15 the soil represents the human heart, because we are told Satan was able come and take away the Word sown in them!!

 It is important to understand, the people in this story are hearing the Word of God. These are people who are coming to Jesus.

We like to think of this as an evangelistic parable. We like to think of this as ways people respond to us when we are talking about the Word with them. But the people in this story are coming to Jesus and hearing the Word of God.

So, this parable is about us. It is about those who come to church every week and their hearts are hard, and shallow, and thorny.

But, It also teaches us that are hearts can be can be productive and prolific.  It depends on whether we will receive the Word of God.

  Jesus teaches us there is no middle ground. There is no straddling the fence in a relationship with God. You are either all in or you are not.

The first three soils in this parable represent the unconverted life. Only the fourth soil represents a true disciple of Jesus Christ. So, It is critical we examine what Christ has to say about these four soils.

The first group of people we see in this parable are The Hard Hearted People Vs. 15

“And these are they by the way side, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts.”

This is a person’s heart that is so packed down, and trampled under. it cannot be penetrated by the seed.

  Jesus compares this person’s heart to soil in a field where people have been walking continually. You can physically see the path they have worn out.

Remember the story of Jesus and His disciples from Mark 2:23. They were walking through the fields picking the heads of grain on the Sabbath and the Pharisee’s were spying on them, so they could accuse them of breaking the law? This is where they would have been walking.

 Jesus says there are people who have a heart like that beaten path. But why? Vs. 15 says, Because Satan comes and immediately takes away their seed. Jesus describes Satan as birds in the air, flying overhead waiting to steal your seed.

I want you to understand, wherever the Word of God is preached, Satan is there, waiting behind the scenes to take that Word from you. And the sad part is, we allow him to do it, because our heart is hard.

Paul describes this for us in   2 Cor. 4:3-4 “And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”

 They cannot see it and they cannot hear it. When our heart is hard, the Word never makes a difference in our life. There is no conviction of sin. There is no self-examination. There is no soul searching or taking stock in where we stand with the Lord. The preaching of the Word is like pouring water out on a rock.

  The sad fact is Satan’s initials are all over this person’s life. They come, they sit and listen, but they do not hear, or understand. It all sounds unintelligible to them.

 Jesus teaches us here that it is not the fault of the sower, and it is not the fault of the seed, but it is the fault of the hearer. There are people who have a heart that is hard it cannot be penetrated by the Word of God.

 I’ll give you an example,  People will go to a podiatrist when they have a callous on their foot, because they can’t feel their foot anymore. The podiatrist will cut the callous off. It is not that there isn’t soft tissue underneath, it is just that the callous has grown so hard for so long it has to be removed.

The same thing is true in our lives as Christians. We can ignore the Word of God for so long that our hearts become calloused. We must rip off that callous. We must expose our heart to God, or else we will never grow.

If this sounds like you, I want to encourage you to set aside a few moments everyday to spend in prayer. Tell the Lord about the challenges you face at home, work, or school. Invite Him into your life. By doing this you will be reconnecting and recommitting yourself to the Lord.

When you come to church make every effort to fully engage in worship. Don’t just sing the songs, know the lyrics, and what they mean to your life. Expose your heart to the Lord.

Rip that callous off because Our ability to receive the Word of God determines the growth of our Spirit. Don’t allow yourself to remain the Hard-hearted person.

The second group of people we see in this parable are The Shallow Hearted People. Vs. 16-17

“And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness; And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word’s sake, immediately they are offended.

These are people who are shallow spiritually. What is amazing is that they hear the Word, and they receive it. They enjoy it. They take it in, and they believe it. They know that it is good, and they know that it right.

They love to hear God’s truth. They love to hear about His grace and forgiveness.

   These are people who pay attention to what they hear. They write it down. They talk about it. They are not just people bolting for the doors after service trying to get to lunch, they linger. But Vs. 17 tells us, “they have no firm root in themselves.”

  In other words, there is no depth in their heart. There is no depth in their soul. No matter what they hear they are never under deep conviction of sin in their life. Their commitment is shallow.

In fact, as they began this journey with God, they thought it would be easy. They thought all their problems would disappear. To them Jesus was a genie in a bottle who would give them everything they wished for.

 Then, reality sets in, and affliction comes, or persecution rises, and what do they do? they run from God. As soon as things become difficult, they fall away from the faith.

Sometimes it is because people question their motives. Sometimes it is because family members are making fun of them.

Sometimes it is when people in the church say something and they get offended and move on. So, they go to the next church and it starts all over again.

  John Bunyan the author of “Pilgrims Promise” calls these people Mr. Temporary and Miss Turnback. They are like the crowds on Palm Sunday who worshipped Jesus as He rode into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey, they shouted Hosanna, and five days later shouted crucify Him.

Theses people don’t last, they go up like a rocket and they come down like a rock.

  These are people who want to be a Christian, but they want to do it on their own terms. My dad used to say, “there are people who pull up to the church drive through window and order a combo of grace and forgiveness, but hold the sacrifice and commitment.”

They run well for a while but there is no endurance and no perseverance because there is no real faith. They are simply shallow hearted people.

If we are going to grow in our faith and become mature Christians, at some point and time, we have to decide that pleasing God is more important to us than pleasing people.

You will never live a life at peace with God trying to please the world. It is an endless, thankless task that will just leave you lonely and lost.

If this is you be determined to commit your life to Christ and don’t worry about what anyone thinks about it. Anyone who would deny you Jesus doesn’t care about you anyway.

Hears an idea, turn off the social media and open your bible. Allow the Word of God to speak to you, to guide your thoughts and decisions throughout the day!!

 Our ability to receive the Word of God determines the growth of our Spirit. Do not remain the shallow hearted person!!

The third group of people in our story are The Crowded Heart People. Vs. 18-19

“And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word, And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.”

These people are too crowded by the world. They are to preoccupied by pleasure to have any room for Jesus. There is just too much going on inside them. Their heart is too cluttered.

     These people are like the crowds in the gospel of Mark. They have heard the Word over and over again. They followed Jesus down to the sea of Galilee. They saw the miracles, but there was no difference in their heart, why? Look at verse 19, “but the care’s of the world.”

  Whether it is hobbies, or a career, or our family, the things of the world take precedence over the things of God in a crowded heart.

God always comes in second or third place in this person’s life. Having a commitment to God is a great concept but there is just no time for that.

 Also, notice Vs. 19 there is the “deceitfulness of riches.” In other words, they deceive themselves into thinking they can serve both God and money.

And earning a living and buying things becomes the priority of their life. It is like a dog chasing it’s tail, they are never satisfied. They work hard to buy things, but their heart is never content with what we have. It is the deceitfulness of riches.

Then Jesus says in Vs. 19, “The lusts for other things.” And this is a large category. We can be too preoccupied by popularity, acceptance, or prestige. The applause of the world is more important to us than living for God.

The sad part is the applause of the world is temporary. There is always someone who can do it better. There is always someone who comes along whom is more important. The applause eventually goes away.

   The effect of the crowded heart is the Word gets choked out. I have this image of an MMA fighter who enters into the octagon and the fight begins and immediately his opponent puts him in a choke hold until he is unconscious.

That is what happens to the Word of God when your heart is too crowded by the world. It is choked until it is unconscious to us.

I am reminded of Lot’s wife who was fleeing the destruction of Sodom, but she just kept looking back until she could not get away. Her heart was too crowded by Sodom.

I am reminded of the rich young ruler. He comes to Jesus and says, “what must I do to inherit eternal life,” and Jesus says go sell your possessions and come and follow me. He went away sad because his heart was tied up in his possessions. He did not have room for the Savior of the world.

  The question is, do you? Do you have room in your heart for Jesus or is your heart too crowded by the world?

Our ability to receive the Word of God, determines the growth of our Spirit.

The final group of people we see in this parable are The Productive Hearted People Vs. 20

“And these are they which are sown on good ground; such as hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred.”

You see this is the good soil Jesus talked about. It’s not hard ground, it’s soft and receptive. It’s not shallow, the Word of God takes deep root. It’s not weed infested, the weeds have been cleaned out for Christ!!

The result is, fruit is born. The work of God becomes evident.. Eternal things become important. Good works become visible.

Love for God, love for the scriptures, love for the church, love for lost souls is what matters. This is the result.

And there are varying amounts of fruit that is bore. Some grow more than others, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred.” But none of these people are fruitless!!

None of these people are without the evidence that God has really done a work in their heart. How do you explain this kind of soil?

Notice it can’t be explained by nature. Each of the other kinds of soil could be explained by nature.

Think about it, it is natural for ground that has been walked on all the time to become hard.

It’s natural for shallow soil on top of rock not to produce anything. It’s natural if you allow the weeds to grow in the soil it will choke out what is there. That’s all explained by nature.

But the only way you explain good soil is someone worked that soil. The soil was not left to itself. Someone turned it over, someone prepared it. Someone goes on working it. That’s why stuff grows there, it has to be cultivated.

So, when the Word of God is preached, and people receive that word and it takes deep root in their heart and the result is they love God, love Jesus, love His people, love His Word, love the lost, and live a life focused on heaven, that is not natural, that is supernatural!!

All Mighty God worked that soil. He is the one who went ahead of the Word and prepared it to be received. He is the one who produces life, and grants us new life through repentance and faith!!

He is the one who continues to fill us with a desire for these things that are supernatural in nature.

Conclusion

Why do we have this story? What do we learn from this parable?

Well, first of all it teaches us what kind of responses we can expect to the Word of God. Not everyone is going to receive it. In fact, many will reject it!!

But did you notice that Jesus didn’t stop sowing it. He threw the seed everywhere He went on every type of soil, knowing most of it would never take root. As Christians we are to do the same.

This parable teaches us We are not responsible for the way a person responds to the Word. We are just responsible for sowing it!!

When the Word is rejected it is not your fault or mine. It may be that Satan has stolen that Word away. It may be that person is to preoccupied by the world.

It is the responsibility of each one of us to hear and receive the Word. And that is encouraging because that means no one’s eternal destiny depends on you or me and our ability to sow the Word.

We are just called to sow it. Our task is to be faithful, the results are in the hands of God!!

Finally, this parable teaches us a standard we can use to evaluate our hearts. Jesus sets the bar and says, look at these four soils and ask yourself which one am I?

And remember the first three types of soil are unconverted people. They are lost. Saved people do not all bare the same amount of fruit, but saved people all bare fruit.

But the good news is, if you have determined you are not baring fruit, and you have not been good soil. It is because Jesus is calling you from His Word.

Answer Him, turn from your sin, admit the truth about yourself, and hear what God is trying to tell you this morning.

Jesus says, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” He is calling us to have a broken and honest heart and receive Him as our Lord and Savior!!

If you have not done that do that today. Paul would say, “behold, today is the acceptable time, today is the day of salvation!”

Don’t wait, don’t put it off. No one is promised tomorrow, but God’s promise is eternal life to those who believe.

Father,

I feel the weight of your Word today, and I pray we would not dismiss what we have heard.

I thank you for speaking to us today. Lord Guard your Word in the hearts of your hearers that they could not turn away from the truth, but allow us to turn to you Lord, and be forgiven!!

In Jesus name I pray, Amen!!