Parable Of The Sower Part Two

Parable of the Sower 2

Growing and sowing seeds

Mark 4:1-4:9

Part two

Introduction-

Prayer-

Mark 4:1-4:9

Last week we centered in on the power of God word in our lives and that the seed referenced in the parable is the Word of God.

The farmer (God) goal is to get his good seed (Word of God) into good soil (You &I) so it would grow because the seed has life in it. The seed is small but powerful and will produce fruit if the conditions are right. But it must be planted in good soil in order to achieve its intended purpose.

Hebrews 4:12

“For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”

Last week

God’s Word is living (alive, not just another book, but God’s Holy Word)

God’s Word imparts New Life to dead sinners (We are lost in our sins without a savior)

God’s Word imparts New Life to His saints. (God not only saves but empowers us to live the lives He demands)

God’s Word is active. (It is not fire insurance, it is a lifestyle)

God’s Word is sharp and piercing. (God in His mercy and Grace desires to cut out sin that destroys, and with love that changes us to the heart. Not just on the outside.

That is where we left off. So let’s dig in.

I. A Hard Heart. (Uninterested Heart)

(Followers of this world)

Verse 4: “And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it.”

Fields in Israel were small and were separated from one another by paths that became like concrete from all the people and animals walking on them. (You know what happens on the path that an animal walks on) DIRTY.

The seed that hit this hard ground would just lie there until the birds gobbled it up.

Today it would be like throwing grass seed on the sidewalk.

We all know people like this- no time for the things of God.

You mention God and they get defensive and tell you what a good person they are and how much kindness they spread in the world.

They don’t need God to be a good person. There not as bad as so and so. Look at all the hypocrites in the church, I a better than them.

They believe that God loves them enough to break his own laws and rules.

Verse 15: “And these are the ones along the path, where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them.”

Satan will kill, steal, and destroy anything that will allow you to get off “the path.”

There two forces in the world today- God and Satan- both physically unseen, we don’t see angels floating around and we do not see red man with a pitch fork, but we see both active in the world today. God in the midst of all this evil and selfishness still does miracles, but it is back page news. We still see people risking their lives to help the underdog, third world countries in poverty, we still see people spreading the good news of God in times where a society would rather praise a noted criminal than turn their lives over to God. Wait hours in a line to watch a sports event but cannot give God a n hour of their time on a Sunday morning.

The phrase, “takes away” means, “to seize with force, to rob.” Notice that Satan does this immediately. He loves to bring confusion and to cause callousness when the gospel is communicated.

When we do not accept the things of God intentional and desire to bury the truths of God deep in our hearts, we allow Satan to steal, kill, and destroy the things God intended us to have.

I think each one of us can relate to the hard heart, I think we all relate to each different heart here because we have been at each level and hopefully we will let God work in us to the perfection of our faith.

I know the hard heart.

I know the shallow heart.

I know the selfish heart.

I am working on the humble heart- With God’s help.

Are there any hard hearts here today? Do you feel cold or calloused? Have the feet of others beat you into a hard place? Have you been trampled upon? Do you have protracted pain or has bitterness put you in a bad place? Have you been burned in the past, maybe even by a church, and you’ve locked your heart into a vault? God wants to touch that heart in you. Then He wants to use you to reach other hard hearts.