INTRODUCTION
SLIDE #1
The way we build God’s church is by reaching people. There is no other way to build the church other than to reach people. We cannot evangelize cats, dogs or any other object other than people.
What is the best approach to use with people? Will we reach all people with the gospel? Why are some people so receptive to the gospel? Why are some so hardened to the gospel? Why are some who look so eager sometimes the ones who fall away the fastest? Why do some seem to never get it, they are always have a reason as to why they cannot deepen their walk with Jesus?
Are we the failure if we plant the seeds of the gospel with a person and then they do not take hold?
I believe one of the keys to reaching people for Jesus is for us to understand the fields that we are planting the seeds of the gospel in.
I also believe the key to helping people grow once they accept Jesus is for us to understand what kind of soil the gospel seed has been planted in.
If we understand what kind of ground we are trying to plant the seed in, it will help us to not get discouraged when things do not go the way we want them to as we try to reach people with the saving message of Jesus.
If we know what kind of ground we are planting in, we will also know what kind of preparation the soil needs before we plant the seed with a person.
As we look at Matthew 13:1-8, 19-23 Jesus is going to share a parable with His followers to try to explain this principle with them. A parable is an earthly story with a heavenly meaning.
SLIDE #2
This parable is not about the seed or the sower, but the four types of soil or ground in which the seed can be planted.
Turn with me to Matthew 13:1-8,19-23 As we look at four different types of ground the gospel seed can be planted on.
SLIDE #3
SERMON
I. THE HARD HEART. (4,19)
In the ancient world the farmer would take handfuls of seed and toss them out into the plowed fields. Not many of the seeds germinated at that time.
SLIDE #4 READ VERSES 1-4
Matthew 13:4 (NASB) 4and as he sowed, some seeds fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate them up.
As the farmer was scattering seeds, some of the seeds fell along the roadside.
If you walk along a path, you will see that it is hard to get anything to grow on it because the ground has been so beaten down it is hard to get anything to be able to sprout up.
If you go into the woods, you can see the trails the animals use; their paths are usually rather bare.
The problem with the seed that falls along the roadside is not with the seed, but with the heart of the one receiving it.
SLIDE #5
The problem is a lack of understanding.
The lack of understanding comes from a hardness of heart.
Verse 19 gives us the interpretation of seed that fell beside the road.
SLIDE #6
Matthew 13:19 (NASB) 19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the one on whom seed was sown beside the road.
John MacArthur Jr in his commentary on Matthews says the following concerning the person with the hard heart.
The person whose heart is hard is unconcerned with the things of God, completely indifferent to anything spiritual. The word makes no penetration into his mind or heart. He does not give the gospel the least consideration, thinking it to be total foolishness. He has so continually and consistently resisted anything that smacks of spirituality, that the soil of his heart has become pounded down until it is impervious and insensitive.
We are told that since the seed does not penetrate the heart, it is sitting on top of the ground for the birds (the evil one) to come snatch it away.
Satan uses false teachers, who promote spiritual lies and contradict God’s truth. He uses fear of what other people might think about a person’s becoming a Christian.
Satan constantly uses pride to blind people to their sinful condition and need of salvation. He makes them believe they are not really so bad, or that, if they do need improvement, they can improve themselves.
He uses doubt, prejudice, stubbornness, procrastination, love of the world, love of sin, and every combination of those ploys.
SLIDE #7
Psalm 14:1 says, The fool has said in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, they have committed abominable deeds; There is no one who does good.¨
If we are going to plant the seed of the gospel in the life of a person with a hard heart, we are going to have to spend A LOT of time in softening the soil (heart). This person will take the longest time to reach.
SLIDE #8
II. THE SHALLOW HEART. (5-6, 20-21)
Look at verses 5-6 with me.
SLIDE #9
Matthew 13:5 - 6 (NASB) 5Others fell on the rocky places, where they did not have much soil; and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of soil. 6 But when the sun had risen, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.
SLIDE #10
The next place the seed fell was the rocky places. This is a place where the rocks were not usually visible. In Israel some of the land has shallow soil. There is a thin layer of top soil on top of limestone.
This person gets excited about the gospel, but then things start to happen. Usually the fall is fast and hard.
SLIDE #11
This relates to one who has no depth of faith.
There is a perception that ALL trouble will go away when they come to Jesus.
Sometimes shallow acceptance of the gospel is encouraged by shallow evangelism that holds out the blessings of salvation but hides the costs¡such as repenting from sin, dying to self, and turning from the old life.
SLIDE #12
The shallow hearted person has a superficial faith. A faith that is all show with no real substance. It is emotion without depth.
The shallow hearted person has come to Christ for what he thought he would get in the way of personal benefit, but when confronted with the high cost of salvation, he will not pay the price.
He has built his religious house on the sand of emotional experience, and when the storms of affliction or persecution beat on his house, it crumbles and washes away as depicted in Matthew 7:26-27.
SLIDE #13
Matthew 7:26 - 27 (NASB) 26 Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell and great was its fall.¨
He has the foliage of a religious experience, but he has no root in spiritual reality and therefore cannot produce spiritual fruit, which, as Jesus goes on to say (13:22-23), is the only reliable evidence of true conversion.
Tough times cause them to abandon God.
SLIDE #14
Matthew 13:20 - 21 (NASB) 20 The one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; 21yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away.
The affliction and persecution Jesus is talking about does not have to do with the ordinary hardships and troubles of life, but specifically with problems that result because of the word. When the cost of discipleship becomes too high, this person falls away and becomes lost to the visible church just as he was always lost to the spiritual.
Falls away is from a word which means to cause to stumble or fall and is the term from which we get scandalize. It is sometimes translated with the idea of causing offense. The superficial Christian is scandalized, offended, stumbles, and falls away when his faith is put to the test.
When we see a person who shows signs of a shallow heart, we need to bring some more soil (spiritual food) into their lives so they can have a faith that takes root.
SLIDE #15
III. THE DISTRACTED HEART. (7,22)
The third part of the parable deals with the seeds that fall into the thorns.
SLIDE #16
Matthew 13:7 (NASB) 7 Others fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them out.
It is important to note that the thorns were not showing on the surface when the seed was planted.
The field was plowed and the thorns and weeds were turned under.
SLIDE #17
This relates to a person who is basically worldly.
This is a sad one because the seed takes and it starts to show promise. Then it happens.
SLIDE #18
Matthew 13:22 (NASB) 22 And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.
The worries of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke out the word.
The things of the world start to take priority over the spiritual. Job worries, money, entertainment, among other things start drawing the spiritual lifeblood away.
The worries of the world, the chase for more stuff, start to drain more and more nourishment from the soil and eventually they die out.
This is the soil that most Christians are dealing with by the way. There are only so many hours in a day. Where are our priorities?
This person wants to be growing in Christ, they just do not trust Him enough to cast their worries on Him. They fail to realize that more MONEY will not necessarily take care of their problems, only more Jesus will do that!
I have seen many people who have allowed the pursuit of the world choke out their spiritual life.
Maybe you are in that boat today. It is not too late to fix it.
Jesus tells us where our treasure is; there our heart will be also. (Matthew 6:21)
One of the things we need to do is sit back and determine what is really important in our lives. He only thing you can take with you is your faith.
For a person we are trying to reach who has the distracted heart, we need to help them pull the weeds as they start showing themselves. We need to help them to see that faith in Jesus will help ease the worries of the world and that the pursuit of wealth will not give them the peace they are looking for.
SLIDE #19
IV. THE RECEPTIVE HEART. (8,23)
SLIDE #20.
Matthew 13:8 (NASB) 8 And others fell on the good soil and yielded a crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.
These are the seeds that fall in the good soil.
This relates to one who hears and understands.
Truly understanding Jesus words means not only intellectually grasping its content, but responding with a wholehearted allegiance and devotion.
Understanding is important because it goes to the heart of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus.
This person has calculated the cost of following Jesus and they want to be a fruitful member of the Kingdom of God.
Verse 8 speaks of a crop the good ground (receptive heart) will produce.
When we are growing in Christ, we will start reproducing more Christians as we spread the seed of the gospel message.
SLIDE #21
Matthew 13:23 (NASB) 23 And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.¨
Notice the progression in verse 23. The person with the receptive heart will bear fruit, then they will bring forth a crop.
The ultimate mark of the genuine believer, the good soil, is fruit-bearing. He not only hears and understands but also indeed bears fruit. Spiritual fruit is the inevitable product of spiritual life.
SLIDE 17.
The fruit that grows in our lives is found in part in Galatians 5:22-23. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
One thing to take note of also is that every receptive heart will produce a different harvest. Some will produce more than others, but all will produce some sort of crop for the kingdom.
We are called to make one to make one! It is a joy to help lead someone to Jesus.
CONCLUSION
Spreading the good news about Jesus can be tough at times. There are times where we can get discouraged. There are other times of glorious joy over what God has done through us.
Knowing what kind of soil you are trying to plant seeds in will help you be more effective in your evangelism efforts.
In the beginning I asked what the best approach to sharing the gospel is. The answer is, it depends on where you are planting.
When we are trying to plant in unprepared soil, we need to realize we will need to do more than just throw out the seeds of the gospel; we need to do some prep work, some plowing, fertilizing and watering before the soil is ready.
We are not responsible before God so much for the results of our efforts, but for the effort.
