Parable of the Soils Matthew 13:1-23

The Parable of the Sower 13 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. 2 Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. 3 Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “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. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. 9 Whoever has ears, let them hear.” 10 The disciples came to him and asked, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?” 11 He replied, “Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. 12 Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. 13 This is why I speak to them in parables: “Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand. 14 In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah: “‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. 15 For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.’[a] 16 But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. 17 For truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it. 18 “Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: 19 When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path. 20 The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. 21 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. 22 The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful. 23 But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”

PRAYER: May we have hears to hear what you have to say today. Open spiritual ears, soften hearts, prepare us today to hear. Pray against Confusion.

Last Week: Why did Jesus speak in parables? Conceal and Reveal. - Hard hearts become harder and refuse the truth - Soft hearts God reveals o That is the backdrop of today. o No big review, today we are going to review and apply this to all of us. . We are all hard and soft, probably a little shallow and thorny too. We are all a type of soil. o This parable explains why many people don’t really hear.

Intro: Parable of the Sower / Parable of the soils - Sower and Seed are integral. Necessary. Yet, they are not the focal point of the parable - Central message is the type of soils.

Word about the Sower and the Seed

Q. Who is the Sower

Christians we think we are the sower We share the gospel with everyone. Some hear and believe. - What is the context? - The Sower is God, specifically Jesus. - God is the one who is sowing the seeds. We are soil not the sower. - We are called to share the gospel. But it is God who does the scattering o the seed.

Q. What is the Seed

Seed is the gospel. What is the Gospel? Jesus died to give me heaven? - This is the Gospel o Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ as my everlasting enjoyment. o Gospel is not about being forgiven, better person, have heaven - DEFINE: God made it possible for us, sinful wretched people, to have relationship with God and to enjoy him forever as our highest treasure. o Everything else is part of that goal. o God himself is the gospel. God himself is the highest good of the gospel achievement.

- God is the sower of the Gospel. God is the gospel. o That is the seed we are talking about. o The GOSPEL. The Seed, GOSPEL / is treasuring God as my highest enjoyment. - God wants everyone to hear / get seed / bear fruit enjoy him

The Sower and the seed are not on trial today, it is my heart and your heart that is on trial today.

- Examine our hearts / wrestle with question: What kind of soil are you REALLY?

- We all think we are the soft nice soil. o If Christian / think good soil, you are deceiving yourself. . Few soft hearts . Most fall in another category. o The judge of good soil is good fruit. Lot’s of fruit. o Simple test, no fruit no good. . What is the fruit? Gospel at work in you. . You treasure Christ more than anything.  Want to be like him. Please him. Value what he values, love what he loves and hates what he hates.  Live your life in such a way that people notice you  Your life and the lives of those around you are changing and becoming more like Jesus. o How’s your fruit?

Is your heart ready to look?

1. HARD SOIL: Hard Heart (4, 19)

4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up 19 When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. - Path divides land - In verse 19, bird / evil one. o CLEAR = Enemy does not prohibit growth. Hard heart doesn’t receive . Then the bird/enemy comes. . Enemy snatches because it was rejected. Not before it could be accepted. o The Gospel never penetrated the soil. Let sit there. - Hard hearts keep fighting against God. At some point God will say, “Fine” Go that way.” . Enemy comes in. . We do not know when that is. We never stop caring or trying. o We all have family or friends who do not know Jesus. Our job is to never give up on them. Never stop preaching the truth. o Pray for soft hearts. . Hard hearts can be softened through prayer. - In the end. It is not us that can do the work. It is the Holy Spirit in a heart that is ready. - Jesus spoke in parables so that some would believe and some would reject - God knows peoples hearts o Doesn’t stop him from giving them the gospel. o Gives everyone the opportunity to hear. - Parable = CLEAR o See cannot germinate if it doesn’t lodge beneath the surface. o It has to go into the heart

- Not just for those who have not accepted Jesus. o There are hard hearts in the church. People who call themselves Christians. - The Pharisees were amongst those Jesus said had hard hearts. o They were religious. o Religious leaders. o This applies to you and I in our walk with God now.

- The most dangerous words a Christian can say is, “I’ve heard it all before.” - There are many Christians who come into contact every day o Come to church / read Bible / Christian books o Gospel has never gone deep and taken root.

- If this is you probably don’t realize it. Probably never thought of yourself this way. You think you are a good Christian. - Let me ask a question – o Ever seen power of Gospel deep in your heart and life? o Has there ever been a time in your life when the word of God began to dawn on you and you began to see things as you have never seen them before? o Has there ever been a time when hearing God’s word, you felt that you finally woke up from a deep sleep? o Has there ever been a time when you suddenly realized that the gospel shows you your deepest needs and at the same time meets them.

- Perhaps, you are not allowing the gospel to move beyond the surface. o Not about grasping Gospel / letting it transform you . From the inside out it changes how you see the world and relate to it. . If your life doesn’t have fruit. - When the gospel spreads its roots in our hearts we are truly transformed. Perhaps you have a hard heart.

2. ROCKY GROUND: Shallow Heart (5-6, 20-21)

5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 20 The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. 21 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.

- Rocky ground is filled with rocks and not much soil. o Results are deceiving. Fast growth o No deep root system to pull in moisture, the unrelenting heat would cause the plant to dry and wilt away. - The hearer immediately responds with joy, o Then immediately falls away when things get tough. - So, the initial response is not deep or lasting. o The external pressures, troubles, and persecution are like the harsh conditions beating on a rootless plant.

- Maybe there are times when you receive the word with joy! o Your spiritual and emotional vigor springs up. o But soon fades away. Perhaps you get this feeling from attending a conference, a concert, or a retreat. It’s what we might call the “church camp experience.” . People who go to camp, YWAM, Retreats, conferences, etc. . Mountain top experience. Get excited. Experience  Later, come home, had no roots so it fades  Apathy or rejection. - There is nothing necessarily wrong with these experiences (GREAT!) o But the problem is that the experience itself is never the source of true spiritual life, the gospel is. - Some really struggle with this. o You move from experience to experience. o You have been on top of the mountain, and when you come down to the valley the emotion fades away. . People doubt. Was it real? . It was real, your heart was just shallow. - You were based in the wrong thing. o You want the gifts and not the giver. o You want immediate help not a savior. o You wanted the stuff God gives and not God himself. - You truly never worship Christ, only the things he provided. o Needs physically, emotionally. o Security, self worth o Jesus makes you feel good about yourself. Loved and accepted. - IS THIS YOU? - Question o When you lose the stuff the real things you worship) does your faith wither? o Does your faith waver when you get outside of your Christian bubble? o Would your faith waver if you lost your position? o Would your faith wither if your high paying job is taken away? o Would your trust in God wither if your house burnt down? o Does your trust in God wither when you and your spouse and you are going through a rough patch? - Perhaps you have a shallow heart.

3. THORNY GROUND: Occupied Heart (7, 22)

7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. 22 The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful

Thorny is hardest to recognize o Nothing wrong o Good soil, good plant - Problem is that the soil is occupied o This is why Jesus uses the word “choke” . plants crowding together. - Here seeds find nutrition, roots go deep o Not the only thing that goes deep o Weeds grow faster than the seeds. Choke out their life-source - Jesus explains that both anxiety and wealth, o “the cares of this world” are the thorns that choke out genuine gospel faith. - Other commitments keep these seeds form grow

- Dangerous – never see what’s going on here.

o Notice that Jesus uses the word “deceit” in verse 22. o This seems to imply an added warning that these “thorns” are so subtle that one may not be aware of the choking that is going on.

When you examine your life do you see much fruit?

- If you were honest with yourself and your church family, would you would say that Christ shares control with other things in your life. - I feel like many of us are here. o Some of you feel choked by other desires. o You have a divided heart. o Other things are choking the work of the gospel out of your heart. o You don’t see yourself progressing in your faith. o You don’t see yourself growing in unusual ways. o You don’t see others being changed through you. - I really want to read more, be at church more, serve more o But I got this mortgage, work long hours o I got these commitments to other things. o I want to give God more but….I don’t have room for him. - Perhaps, you have an occupied heart.

Consider the First Three Soils 1. First = never even started. Never went in 2. Second = Grew fast but was shallow 3. Third = survived = no fruit, in the end proved worthless. Will the farmer save this third plant, thrash it out with the other weeds.

- None of these soils are useful to the farmer. None produce fruit.

- So the heart is the root of every human being. Everything we do is shaped and controlled by what our hearts desire.

o The bible tells us that the heart is deceitful above all things. (Jer 17:9) o So, our greatest problem is not our circumstances or others, but our own hearts. - What do we do about it? o Assses our heat. God gave us a tool.

Allow God’s Word to Diagnose Your Hard Heart. a. Hebrews 4:12-13; The word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. - As we read, pray, meditate on, study, and hear preaching of the word we will continue to get glimpses of our true selves. o He can change our heart, make it good soil o We cannot change our heart by directing my thinking towards God . Not a change you can just “will” o Farmer doesn’t plant seed to not produce fruit . He wants fruit. . He wants our heart to be fertile. . He wants good soil.

1. If you heart is HARD a. Feel no hope b. God can soften heart if you invite him to do that 2. heart is SHALLOW a. wonder why you don’t care. b. God can give you passion for him. Ask him 3. your heart is OCCUPIED, a. crowded by the things of this world, b. Ask God to give you desire for him c. Pull out things that distracting

4. GOOD GROUND: Receptive Heart (8, 23)

8 Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. 23 But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”

- Jesus explanation of good soil = understanding a. “understanding” is decisive, it implies receptivity = response = transformation. b. This person not only hears the gospel, but understands it and lives it.

- When seed lands in good soil, the whole ground is transformed. a. Bursts with growth and fruit b. When a seed sprouts / breaks ground / It turns toward the sun. i. This is the way we respond in faith. ii. Hear message, let it take root, then we grow 1. Turn our hearts and our desire towards God’s son

What kind of a heart do you have today?

HARD / SHALLOW / OCCUPIED.

Today as we turn to communion we do so by evaluating our hearts.

1 Corinthians 11 – explanation of communion, - Remembering what God has done for us in the gospel o Given us away to enjoy him forever. o Does my heart enjoy him now. Is there fruit of that in my life. Is it transforming me.

1 Cor 11:28 Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup.

Today we will do that. We will examine ourselves / God what is my heart like.

Prayer: 1) Lord make my heart soft to you. 2) Lord, help me have a passion for you. Help me let your Word go deep into my heart. Transform me 3) Lord, clean up my heart.

Worship for a bit. Singing heart of worship. Heart of worship is about seeing and savoring Jesus Christ. All about Him. Gospel.

- Getting our heart right, Apologizing for letting our hearts become hard, shallow or occupied and coming back to right type of heart. Sing as a prayer. Then we will serve communion