Parables Part 2

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This morning we are going to be in Mark 4:3-8 and so I’m going to read that and then we are going to pray and get started

You can read along with me in your bible or on your phone and if you don’t have a Bible we have some in the front and back and if you don’t have a Bible at home then that is our gift to you, you can take that with you

So let’s read

Mark 4:3–8 NIV

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.”

pray

The parable of the sower

Jesus tells a story or a parable of a farmer who goes out and sows seed into the ground

It would have been a very common thing to do

And most scholars believe that where Jesus was currently located while telling this story the backdrop would have been a visual analogy of this very parable that Jesus was telling

The farmer is spreading this seed all around and so it falls on ground that was hardened like the path and it couldn’t penetrate into the soil therefore it was left on the top for the birds to eat

other was thrown on to some rocks where there wasn’t much soil so it would spring up quickly but ends up getting burned by the sun and withers away because of the lack of a root system

Other seed is thrown among thorns which found soil to grow in but was overtaken by the thorns

And then seed was thrown on good soil where it produced a great crop

Now I think every parable has a single meaning but a variety of applications

every parable has a single goal in mind with many takeaways

The nice thing about this parable is we don’t have to do much guessing because Jesus takes the guesswork out of it

Just a couple verse later his disciples come to Him asking Him what the parable means and so He explains it to them like this

Mark 4:14–20 NIV

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.”

So for seed you could read “gospel message.”

For sower read “preacher”

for the soils read “people”

So what is the big kingdom idea here?

If every parable is telling of a kingdom idea then what is this one and why is Jesus spending His words and time telling it and then explaining it to His disciples

Here’s what I believe it to be: The receptiveness depends on the state of the ground

Said another way: the receptiveness to the gospel is dependent on the condition of the heart

Here’s what that means: The farmer doesn’t change, and the seed doesn’t change, it’s only the soil that is different

Notice how the farmer does the same regardless.

If you are being preached the true gospel, hearing it from another preacher isn’t going to make it feel better for you

You may have your style preferences and you may like one communicator over another but at the end of the day the gospel is the gospel regardless of who’s preaching it

The truth is the truth no matter who’s communicating it

Notice also, the seed is the same

Listen, we don’t have to water down the gospel to get people to accept it

If someone will only accept a watered down version of the gospel then that just means they won’t accept the one true gospel

We have to stop wasting our time trying to make the kingdom of God fit into our kingdom

It doesn’t work

We learn, live, and let out the one true gospel of Jesus Christ and allow the Holy Spirit to do His work

So that then leaves us with the soil

This parable teaches us that there are 4 different types of soil

The path

Where seed is thrown and satan comes and takes away the Word given to us

Satan will do everything in His power to harden and callous your heart in such a way that you become unmoved by the gospel

2 Cor 4:4 “4 The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”

It’s what He does and that is often His first tactic. If He can get to your heart and harden it against the kingdom of God then he will

That’s why we must be careful with what and who we are allowing to influence and cultivate our heart

Parents - we must be careful who we are letting our kids listen to and be around and speak into their lives

It doesn’t happen overnight but the enemy will chip away slowly and you won’t realize it until it’s too late

We must put on the full armour of God Ephesians 6 talks about to guard ourselves and ready ourselves against the spiritual battle that we are all in

The rocks

Where seed is thrown and joy is found and yet when trouble or persecution comes they quickly fall away

Another tactic of the enemy is to try to dissuade you by bringing trouble and persecution

The girls want to wrestle me

We love Jesus when everything is all good

But will we love Him even when it’s not?

How do we counter this attack? We need roots!

How do we get roots? By knowing the Word of God and knowing the Father

I also believe part of a spiritual root system is having those who are rooted with you

Having those people in your life that when you feel like you’ve been rocked and shooken to the core and you don’t know if you can go another day

They are deeply rooted in the Word and love of Jesus and they can help keep you rooted there as well

Having a small group is a great step in that direction

The thorns

Where seed is thrown but the worries of this life choke out the truth

Usually if the enemy can’t get you with a trouble He will disguise it as a blessing

Often times if the enemy can’t get you to walk away through troubles He will give you all this stuff to blind you from the truth. He will convince you that you don’t need anything else, anyone else, that you are completely sufficient

You’re successful, happy, everything is good so why would you need to step out of your comfort zone and follow a God who is going to call you into the uncomfortable?

If I’m honest, I think this is the tactic the enemy uses most in America and I also believe that our churches are filled with this type of soil

I think churches are filled with people who have enough, life is good enough, they come to church, they hear the Word, they go through the motions but there’s little to no fruit. They’re unfruitful and we know what Jesus says about the branch that bears no fruit

And the worst part about it is I think pastors have preyed on these types of people. Because they fill the seats and the giving buckets

But I love you too much. You could never give a dime to cornerstone, you could hate my guts, but I can’t let you sit there and be deceived and hold back the truth just so I can garner your affection toward me

If the things of this world matter more to you the the gospel of Jesus then something is wrong

If you are more worried about making a dollar than sharing the truth about Jesus than something is wrong

If a toy means more to you than a soul then something is wrong

Please, I beg you, don’t deceive yourself. Be honest with yourself and then do something about it

The good soil

Where the seed is thrown and produces a crop

We are called to produce a crop

We are called to love on another

We are called to give of ourselves

We are called to lay our lives down

We are called to follow Jesus

We are called to joy

We are called to hope

We are called into an abundant life

If our faith in Jesus does not produce something then you may want to check your faith

Notice also that it produces something far greater than it ever could have on its own

When we are truly working in and for the kingdom of God we are going to produce and experience things we could have never imagined or done in our own power

I don’t talk. God called me to be a teaching pastor

It was the last thing I would have expected and yet here I am

Because of God. I don’t stand up here and do this on my own. It’s only by the power and working of the Holy Spirit in me that I am able to this week in and week out

When you work in the kingdom of God for the King of the universe you’re going to experience and do things you could never do on your own

The soil

Now a lot of times when this is preached it’s presented as, here are the 4 soils, you better hope and pray that you are the good soil, the end

The problem with that is that this parable gives us no reason to believe that the soils can’t change

In fact, I could argue that the soils must be able to change because we were once all the path. Hardened and far from God. But Jesus, the faithful farmer, comes and makes the hardened calloused heart a fertile life giving ground

And so if the soil can change then we need to ask ourselves a few questions

What soil are you?

Are we hardened against the Word of God?

Are we one trouble away from giving it all up?

Are we too worried about the things of this world?

Or are we a person who lives the life God has called us to producing fruit thirty. sixty, and a hundred times over?

Where are we and what changes do we need to make in order to insure that we have hearts open to the gospel of Jesus Christ?

Another question that could be asked is: What soil are you producing around you?

In our families: are we creating children who are going to be calloused against the Word of God and the gospel? Will they be more worried about the things of this world? Will there faith be reliant on yours so that when troubles come they have nothing to stand on of their own and so they walk away from the faith all together?

In our friends: Are we representing Christ in a way that’s going to produce life or are we leaving a trail of dead soil every where we go?

God is like the land owner. He calls the shots and provides us with all that we need. He’s given us His Word and has called us to take it to the nations.

Yes we are called to take it Haiti and to Africa and to Europe but we are also called to take it to Perry Fl

We are called to take it to our communities, to the grocery store, to work with us, to the house with us

Are we living that out? Are we the soil God has called us to be and are we producing soil around us that God would be please with?

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