The Fruitful Christian (Mk. 4:1-20)

Introduction

· One of the highlights of our fall is going to a pumpkin patch and corn maze. Hay mazes and corn mazes are a wonderful activity around harvest time, and have spawned a whole industry called ‘Entertainment Farming.’ Some small farms scattered across America no longer produce food at all, but use their property as an attraction. They include country bands, hay mazes, pumpkin patches, petting zoos, pumpkin patches, and pig races. In fact, they may produce very little if any food for actual consumption. The New York Times reported that one farmer in Arizona makes up to $15,000 on a good weekend. Not bad!

· The Christian life is like a farm. In fact, 1 Cor. 3:9 says “You are God’s field, God’s building.”

· What is the whole purpose of a field? It’s to produce crops, which supply food. It may be wheat, barley, apples, citrus, grapes, hay, or pumpkins, or something else.

· Similarly, Christians are called to bear the crops or ‘fruit’ of good works.

· “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides (dwells) in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing” (Jn. 15:5)

· “By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples” (Jn. 15:8)

· If we are not producing fruit, we are falling short of God’s will for our lives, and possibly showing evidence that we are not saved at all.

· As Christians, we have to be careful not to get caught up in ‘Entertainment Farming.’ Producing just enough crops to impress others, but very little actual fruit.

· Read 4:1-20

The Hard Soil (v. 4, 15)

· This would not be intentional. Using a bag, and walking along the road, the sower would undoubtedly drop some seed out of the bag. He surely would conserve it as much as possible and waste any, but a tiny bit was bound to spill out and he dipped his hand in and out in a rhythmic motion, filling his hand, casting the seed, then going back in for more

· The dirt, hardened over time by continuous foot traffic, is resistant to the seed.

· This soil represents the religious leaders who blasphemed against God.

· Today, many hard-hearted people want nothing to do with God, Jesus, and the Bible.

· For the farmer, any seed that drops is the loss of a precious commodity. But for the birds, it is a free meal. Quickly, the birds swoop in and devour the seed.

· Jesus then draws a parallel in how Satan often snatches the seed of God’s Word away from a hard heart before it has the opportunity to penetrate. It’s in one ear and out the other. Satan may do this through self-righteous religiosity, through false teaching, through ignorance, fatigue, distractions, etc.

· At the gym in Orgun, Captain Craig Mullaney saw this… The floor was a cement slab stacked with dozens of benches, squat racks, and leg presses. Above the dumbbells, stenciled red letters spelled out: THE ENEMY TRAINED TO KILL YOU TODAY. WHAT DID YOU DO? Beside it was Rommel's quote: THE MORE YOU SWEAT IN PEACE, THE LESS YOU BLEED IN COMBAT. Apart from these slogans, there was little connection between my new role and the war outside the wire. (Unforgiving Minute) -- If once the curtain were pulled back, and the spiritual world behind it came to view, it would expose to our spiritual vision a struggle so intense, so convulsive, sweeping everything within its range, that the fiercest battle ever fought on earth would seem, by comparison, a mere game. Not here, but up there--that's where the real conflict is waged. Our earthly struggles drone in its backlash. - Abraham Kuyper

· Perhaps you know someone who can be described by this kind of soil. Does anything more aptly describe our culture? 2 Tim. 2:24-26 encourages you to keep sharing the gospel as opportunity allows. Keep praying for them. Be patient, and perhaps God will ‘grant them repentance.’

· >>The next two soils remind us that some in our very own church may think they are saved, when in reality they are not.

The Stony Soil (v. 5-6, 16-17)

· Rocky ground, over which a thin layer of soil is spread

· Immediately sprang up b/c it had no depth. Starting out, this soil actually seems to be the most promising. While the other soils still appear lifeless, this one is already showing life.

· V. 16 immediately receive it with joy.

· Perhaps they even get baptized and start attending church. But like a passing fad or well-intentioned New Year’s Resolution, they give up as soon as things get tough and people begin to mock (v. 21).

· This is a good reminder for us to be careful of our emotions and feelings. Revival meeting, a summer camp, mountain top experience, a particularly moving sermon, fears of death. They start so well but end tragically. They’re truly excited about Jesus, but when suffering comes their way, they begin to feel “buyers remorse.” In our emotion-driven culture, we must realize emotions can be very deceptive. Emotions are not bad; they can be wonderful, but they are not a reliable instrument to measure our faith. They ebb and flow. That is why there is such a high divorce rate. That is why political polls fluctuate so dramatically. Because feelings and opinions change.

· They’re certainly not a sturdy foundation for our faith!

· “Tribulation” (v. 17) means a pressing or squashing and is sometimes translated “affliction” in our Bibles. “Persecution” means a driving or chasing away and pictures those who insult, threaten, or drive us out because of our Christian testimony. Mk 10:30 we can expect this in this life as part of being a disciple.

· Such trials can dry us up if we have a counterfeit faith, or they can press us closer against the loving bosom of God if our faith is genuine.

· Notice that the reason the plant withers is because “it had no depth of soil…it had no root” (Mk. 4:5-6). A plant cannot escape the sun. A plant cannot adjust the temperature of the sun. The only thing a plant can do is root itself deeply in the moist, nutrient-rich soil to endure the scorching heat of the sun. In the same way, if we are to endure intense suffering in life, we must root ourselves deeply in Christ (cf. Ps. 1:1-3). God will determine the intensity of our trials, and promises to give us grace to endure them. Just abide in Christ and depend on His Spirit, and you will be able to endure whatever God permits in your life.

The Thorny Soil (v. 7, 18-19)

· two competing plants – wheat and common weeds; indigenous weeds always have an upper hand over cultivated crops; roots and foliage steal nutrients and sunlight.

· Several years ago I had a conversation with my son. Me: “It’s almost springtime.” Dylan: “When is it springtime?” Me: “When the grass and flowers come out.” "But Daddy, you don’t have any grass.” “True, but also when the weeds come out.” “But Daddy, you don’t like the weeds.” You know, he had a point!

· These people who are thorny soil show early potential, but are slowly ‘choked out.’

· In particular, there are three common influences that may be choking your faith.

· Cares (v. 19). Lit. ‘worries of this age.’ Anxiety, worry, care; to be troubled, pulled in different directions. To be overly concerned about things in life that you can’t control anyway. Will I flunk that class? Does anybody like me? Will I ever get married? What if my loved one becomes ill? Will I lose my job? Will my retirement run out? Could I be victim to a terror attack? Jesus says, “Do not let your heart be troubled.”

· Deceitfulness of riches (v. 19). Wealth too can strangle you. One leader in the persecuted church of Romania said, ‘In my experience, 95% of the believers who face the test of persecution pass it. 95% who face the test of prosperity fail it.’

· Desires for other things (v. 19). lusts.’ Cravings, desires, deep longings. Jesus’ catch-all category.

· John Piper: “I am wired by nature to love the same toys that the world loves. I start to fit in. I start to love what others love. I start to call earth "home." Before you know it, I am calling luxeries "needs" and using my money just the way unbelievers do. I begin to forget the war. I don't think much about people perishing. Missions and unreached people drop out of my mind. I stop dreaming about the triumphs of grace. I sink into a secular mind-set that looks first to what man can do, not what God can do. It is a terrible sickness. And I thank God for those who have forced me again and again toward a wartime mind-set.”

· This plant was not scorched like the rocky soil. It presumably grew larger and taller, but yielded no crop. A plant that does not yield a crop is useless.

The Good Soil (v. 8, 20)

· The fourth soil was “good soil and produced grain – some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty” (v. 8).

· This is the kind of soil all of us should aspire to be, the only soil that will actually persevere and prove to have eternal life

· Jesus urges all of us to become this kind of soil – where God’s Word is heard, understood, and planted deeply into our hearts. Such people will humble themselves, trust in God’s Son, and begin a life of growing obedience to Jesus Christ

· Fruit is the true only evidence of genuine faith. This is the sign of being genuinely born again. To lack fruit is to lack life. “Naked faith is no faith” (Puritan Thomas Adams)

· Notice the abundance of the harvest - Hundrefold – Isaac sowed and reaped in the same year a hundredfold (Gen. 26:12), but normally, in a good year the farmer could expect a 7 fold return. Different degrees of fruitfulness - based on giftedness, cultivation, pruning, faithfulness.

· May God help each of us and our church grow in fruitfulness for His glory.

The Seed

· Four soils, four responses, but one unchanging seed.

· Represents the Word of God (v. 14).

· We have a duty to scatter the seed of God’s Word into the lives of those God has put in our path.

· The results do not depend on our knowledge or skill.

· The seed itself has the power to transform lives (Rom. 1:16-17).

· Others lose salvation? Warren Wiersbe: “It is important to note that none of these first three hearts [the soil by the wayside, the shallow soil, and the weedy soil] underwent salvation. The proof of salvation is not listening to the Word, or having a quick emotional response to the Word, or even cultivating the Word so that it grows in a life. The proof of salvation is fruit, for as Christ said, “Ye shall know them by their fruits” (Matt. 7:16)”

Conclusion

· *Show dead plant. Some people look this way – dead, lifeless, fruitless, withered, defeated by trials and persecution.

· This is a frightening prospect. You may wonder, after all, how can I know for sure I would endure affliction and not cave in? Have I truly counted the cost of being a Christian? Have I really forsaken all? How do I know I will be ready if I am tested? I say I would be willing to suffer or die for Christ, but would I?

· This passage gives us the key to fruitful endurance.

· A plant cannot hide itself from the sun. Neither can we hide from affliction.

· A plant cannot determine the heat of the sun. Neither can we determine what trials we will face.

· The only way a plant can endure is to root itself deeply in the soil. Notice why the plant dies. V. 6b. No source of water, nutrients. Lk. 8:6 it withered away, b/c it had no moisture. Mk. 4:17

· God will decide what trials in life you go through. He promises to give you the grace. His Spirit will give you the words to say. The greatest way to prepare yourself is to plant deeply in Christ. Be in His Word and prayer. Attach yourself to His people. Know Him. Love Him.