What's my soil like? 2021-05-09

Planting Beans

I have in my hand some little beans.

These are Kidney Beans because their color and shape

looks like kidneys.

Would you like to have one to plant?

Do you think you can make it grow?

What if I told you to take this bean and plant it in the middle of the street our in front of the church?

Will it grow?

Not likely, something might eat it, or squash it long before it starts to grows!

What if I told you to take this bean and plant it in the gravel at the edge of many roads?

Would it grow?

It might but will it grow well?

No Why not?

plants need soil and water to grow strong roots in.

Have any of you ever picked black berries in a field?

They taste good, but the thorns sure hurt.

What if I told you to take this bean and plant it in the middle of a bunch of black berries and plant it?

Would it grow?

Would it do well, if it’s hidden in the middle of a bunch of thorny berry bushes?

Probably not.

What if I told you to take this bean and plant it in a pot with new potting soil,

put it in partial sun and water is every day

Do you think it might grow?

Will it be the healthiest plant, instead of the one’s in:

the road

the gravel

or the berry patch.

Jesus told a parable about seeds a farmer planted

they landed in the road, the gravel, the weeds and the good soil.

Some children choose not to believe in God, don’t even give Him a try

Some children get excited about God but turn away when it’s un-popular with their friends

Some children ask god in their hearts but then worries, bad thought and other desires just

crowd Him out of their lives

Other children grow in the Lord and God helps them be better people than they could be on their own.

Sometimes, they kindly tell others about having Jesus in their hearts.

Would you like to learn a song?

The Word of God is like little bitty seeds

scattered all around

The Word of God is like little bitty seeds

scattered all around

Some on the road,

some in the weeds

but everywhere you look, you find

little bitty seeds

The word of God is like little bitty seeds

scattered all around

The seed that falls in the middle of the road

the birds steal it away

The seed that falls in the middle of the road

the birds steal it away

Now the road compares to any man’s heart

who rejects the word from the very start

The seed that falls in the middle of the road

the birds steal it away

I want the word, to grow in my heart like

seeds on fertile ground.

I want the word, to grow in my heart like

seeds on fertile ground.

Watered by the spirit

Touched by the son

and liven like I should until the harvest come

I want the word, to grow in my heart like

seeds on fertile ground.

Let’s pray and then you can go upstairs.

Father help each one of these children to have

good hearts were your Word can grow and

help them be the best children they can be.

And all the adults said, Amen!

The Parable & Explanation

So here comes the first telling of the parable, to the whole crowd

Mark 4:1–9 NIV

1 Again Jesus began to teach by the lake. The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it out on the lake, while all the people were along the shore at the water’s edge. 2 He taught them many things by parables, and in his teaching said: 3 “Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times.” 9 Then Jesus said, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”

One of the nice things about this parable is, that it comes with it’s own explanation which we will read soon.

Otherwise, who knows what theories and and the disciples might have made concerning this parable.

Is Jesus teaching farmers to be careful not to waiste their grain on useless land with pathing, rocks and weeds?

But maybe not, maybe you would have realized that God, His word and men’s hearts were being talked about.

Let’s read on

Mark 4:10–20 NIV

10 When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables. 11 He told them, “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables 12 so that, “ ‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!’” 13 Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable? 14 The farmer sows the word. 15 Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. 16 Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. 17 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 18 Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; 19 but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. 20 Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown.”

Do we ever act like the disciples.

Put on a good face, as though we understand the teaching, in front of people and then later

search out,

what in the world did that mean?

I like the honesty in the gospel writers,

how often we can see ourselves in their actions.

The Farmer is God the Father

He sows His Word, the Logos, that is Jesus words,

his teachings.

He sows it in the fashion of hand sowing, which gets it everywhere,

not nearly as precised as using a grain drill to put seed only in the ground you drive over.

And the seed lands in

4 Types of Soil

The Road or Path

The Gravel areas

The briars and weeds and

the good soil.

The Road

The road or Path represents a hardness, that nothing penetrates.

The seed that lands on it just bounces and skids to a stop

until something snatches, smashes blows it away.

Jesus said

Mark 4:15 NIV

15 Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them.

The trouble with the road or the path, it that it is hard packed.

No seed,

no word of God,

is going to find a home there to grow.

What a sad state,

to have an opportunity to have a relationship with the king of the univers.

What a sad state

to let your lack of understanding,

keep you from knowing God.

What a sad state

to be a slave to reason

when so much of life and love is outside of reason and understanding.

I don’t understand entirely how electricity works

yet I use it.

Is Light a waive music or a substance,

it appears at times to be one of the other,

how it works with our eyes in unclear,

but we all use light and flashlights etc.

The Gravel

Jesus said

Mark 4:16–17 NIV

16 Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. 17 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away.

If you have been in church a while, you have seen people joyfully come to the Lord, but later fall away.

Some times they came to Christ with false expectations.

when they didn’t get straight A’s

when they couldn’t fly like superman

they said,

Well this must be false.

and walk away.

Others find their popularity falling, when others find they believe in Christ now.

Some leave because they are persecuted in minor or major ways,

They would rather be popular then right.

The weeds

Jesus said

Mark 4:18–19 NIV

18 Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; 19 but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.

Those among the rocks are bothered by external things.

Those stiffled by the weeds are pleged by inward thoughts and problems

thoughts about their lives

wrong thinking about money (the deceitfulness of wealth)

if only I won the lotter, life would be so much better.

if only I win one big hand, we can pay the rent

There wants, their desires, help them drift away from God.

Have you drifted away from god?

The Good soil

Mark 4:20 NIV

20 Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown.”

Good soil is what you want.

If you are good soil, God’s word can thrive in you.

When I hear

it will produce a crop, 30, 60 or 100 times what was sown,

I think Evangelism

this fruitful person is a great evangelist in Christ.

And they could be a great evangelist,

but not all growth

not all crops

are going to be

bringing others to Christ

In luke 8 we can read

Luke 8:15 NIV

15 But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.

People who listen to god’s word

who retain it, remember it

and perserver

produce a crop.

What might that crop be like

John 15:5 NIV

5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

the fruit of abiding

What might the crop be like

Galatians 5:22–23 NIV

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

what else might this good soild

growing fruit be like

Colossians 1:10 NIV

10 so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God,

You can produce fruit for God in your studies

you can produce fruit for God in your good deeds

and many

man other ways.

What type of soil are you?

Do you know Christ

Is there fruit in your life

Is it increasing.

To the question, what type of soil are you

or what kind of soil do you have,

I have often thought

I must not be the path, because Satan didn’t snatch me away, I am still following Christ

I must not be the stony ground, for I am still walking with Christ,

but I see the danger is caring too much about avoiding persecution

I must not be the weedy soil, because i am still in Christ,

but I see the danger in following stray thoughts and interest too much of the time

and thus crowding Christ out of my life.

Again I ask, what kind of soil are you or

what kind of soil do you have?

What are you going to do to improve your soil?

You may be thinking,

Luke 13:6–9 NIV

6 Then he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree growing in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it but did not find any. 7 So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, ‘For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’ 8 “ ‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it. 9 If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.’ ”

God is looking for fruit in our lives

he is willing to invest in our lives

but the infinate God isn’t always patient

sometimes He gives us what we deserve.

The gardener parable gives me hope that I can improve my soil.

It gives me hope that you can improve your soil.

[pause]

One of the best things in life,

is that people change and can change for the better.

One of the saddest things in life, is people can change,

without intention, they can drift from

a person in gods word

a person in gods church

a person in good fellowship with other

telling others about christ

to someone else,

to an unbeliever

Now,

Imagine yourself as working for the farmer

In Christ we do work on His farm

When do you sow seed?

in season, every year

year after year.

Where do you sow seed?

In Jesus parable

Everywhere, and leave the growth up to God

Why do you sow seed?

because you want to see growth

God wants to see growth

growth in God is good.

Tell God

What has God asked you to do to improve your soil?

Will you do it?

Let’s Pray