And again He began to teach by the sea. And a great multitude was gathered to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat in it on the sea; and the whole multitude was on the land facing the sea. Then He taught them many things by parables, and said to them in His teaching: “Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. And it happened, as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and the birds of the air came and devoured it. Some fell on stony ground, where it did not have much earth; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of earth. But when the sun was up it was scorched, and because it had no root it withered away. And some fell among thorns; and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no crop. But other seed fell on good ground and yielded a crop that sprang up, increased and produced: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred. And He said to them, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear! But when He was alone, those around Him with the twelve asked Him about the parable. And He said to them, "To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; but to those who are outside, all things come in parables, so that ’Seeing they may see and not perceive, And hearing they may hear and not understand; Lest they should turn, And their sins be forgiven them.’" And He said to them, "Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? The sower sows the word. And these are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown. When they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts. These likewise are the ones sown on stony ground who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with gladness; and they have no root in themselves, and so endure only for a time. Afterward, when tribulation or persecution arises for the word’s sake, immediately they stumble. Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word, and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. But these are the ones sown on good ground, those who hear the word, accept it, and bear fruit: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred." Mark 4:1-20
Mark 4:1-20
Are You Involved?
Jesus taught His disciples through parables in the last year of His ministry on earth. The purpose of the parables was to hide His teachings from unbelievers who were seeking to kill Him. His disciples should understand the earthly descriptions of a heavenly truth. In fact the word Parable means “to throw alongside.” This specific parable illustrates the importance of three aspects of God’s Kingdom.
Introduction – Too afraid to plant
A Georgia farmer, ragged and barefooted, was standing on the steps of his tumbledown shack. A stranger stopped for a drink of water and just to pass the time of day he asked: "How is your cotton coming along?" he asked. "Ain’t got none," replied the farmer. "Did you plant any?" asked the stranger. "Nope," was the reply, "afraid of bollweevils." "Well," continued the stranger, "how is your corn?" "Didn’t plant none," came the answer, "’fraid there weren’t going to be no rain." The visitor persevered: "Well, how are your potatoes?" "Ain’t got none. Scairt - of potato bugs." "Really, what did you plant?" pressed the stranger. "Nothin’," was the calm reply, "I jest played safe."
Too often, we as members of God’s earthly body are playing it safe in the church. God never intended for us to be a country club or earthly organization that meets without spiritual results. Our responsibility is to sow seed daily that we may reap a spiritual harvest.
Notice…
The INTEGRITY of the Sower.
The sower exhibits integrity because he has a responsibility to work hard. In doing this we find that he’s reliable. He gets up every morning to tend to the fields which may be several miles away from his house. The crops won’t grow if he doesn’t how the rows and remove the weeds.
He is also diligent. His family won’t survive if he doesn’t work the fields. He works as if everything depends upon him and trusts God to do only what God can do.
He also knows adversity. The farmer experiences hardships and difficulties. He understands what drought and floods can do to his crops.
Illustration – Farmer & Methods
Paul Powell once said “Many churches today remind me of a laboring crew trying to gather in a harvest while they sit in the tool shed. They go to the tool shed every Sunday and they study bigger and better methods of agriculture, sharpen their hoes, grease their tractors, and then get up and go home. Then they come back that night, study bigger and better methods of agriculture, sharpen their hoes and grease their tractors and go home again. They come back Wednesday night, and again study bigger and better methods of agriculture, sharpen their hoes, grease their tractors, and get up and go home. They do this week in and week out, year in and year out, and nobody ever goes out into the fields to gather in the harvest.”
Too often we are meeting to discuss what we are meeting about. The church is meant to engage our culture and see it changed. Sadly, I am afraid the church is hoarding its seed and being changed by the culture.
Notice here that the sower sows by hand. He holds the seed in an “apron” of his garment and flings the seed over the ground. Afterwards, he will plow or till the land allowing the seed to penetrate the soil. Then he waits upon the rains to provide the moisture necessary for the plants to grow.
Interestingly, our farming techniques or methods differ from biblical times. We now prepare our fields before we sow the seed. We fertilize the fields and irrigate them where possible. Our methods have changed but the basic principle is still there. The fields need working.
In the same way, the body of Christ won’t grow if we don’t work. Every believer in Christ is a sower or farmer. The questions are how reliable are you; how diligently are you working; and what adversities are you facing in sowing the seed of life?
Then we see…
The QUALITY of the Seed
The seed never failed to do its job. We discover four aspects of the seed.
First, it is pure. Before the sower would scatter the seed, he would make sure it was ceremonially clean. This is a picture of the Word of God being sinless and blameless. The seed is without match.
Second, it is powerful. Because it was unmixed, it radically changed the soil. When the seed appropriated the fertile soil it always produced more than expected! No weeds were comingled with it. Again, this is an example of Christ doing the work which only He can do.
Then, we discover it is personal. The sower sowed the seed by hand. There was a commitment and dedication of doing it correctly. We also must be involved in sharing the Word to our friends and acquaintances. The Word is personal.
And finally, we find that it is proven. For over 2,000 years the Seed has changed hearts and lives! He is timeless and without equal.
Illustration – Farmer & Banker
A farmer went into his banker and announced that he had bad news and good news. "First, the bad news..." "Well," said the farmer, "I can’t make my mortgage payments. And that crop loan I’ve taken out for the past 10 years -- I can’t pay that off, either. Not only that, I won’t be able to pay you the couple of hundred thousand I still have outstanding on my tractors and other equipment. So I’m going to have to give up the farm and turn it all over to you for whatever you can salvage out of it. "
Silence prevailed for a minute and then the banker said ,"What’s the good news?"
"The good news is that I’m going to keep on banking with you," said the farmer.
Jesus never has a crop failure and never reneges on His word. We can’t say that though. We pray for our crop failures and break our promises readily. But we can keep on “banking” with Jesus Christ.
And finally, we notice…
The DIVERSITY in the Soil.
Here we find four different degrees of soils.
There is the Hardened soil. This soil is the pathway or sidewalks through the land. People traversed through these areas on their way to their destinations. As the seed fell upon these hardened areas, the birds of the air quickly devoured the seed. In the same way, Satan removes any hope of those who have become self-willed in life. There are those who are self-sufficient, self-satisfied and self-righteous. They need nothing and nobody…especially a Savior. They are hardened to the Word of God.
Then there is the Shallow soil. This soil lies over a rock formation which allows for the warmth and quick growth of the seed. But when the heat arises it quickly perishes. Difficulties and trials destroy the root system because it cannot grow deep enough for moisture. In the same way, many excited would-be followers take to Christianity. But their faith is superficial. They have feelings but no faith. There is no depth to their commitment. All of us have seen this type of soil. It appears they have committed their lives to Christ but drop out of the scene when things aren’t going well.
Third, there is the Deficient soil. This soil appears to have done well. But thorny plants grow among the new plants and choke the nutrients and life out of the soil. This soil has become congested with distractions, deceptions, desires of this life. It almost seems they are believers but they never bear any fruit. They remain lost in their trespasses and sins. I believe many of our church members find themselves here. They have an “appearance of godliness but deny the power thereof.” They are fit only to be gathered and burned as waste.
And finally, there is the Fertile soil. This soil is ready and responsive to the Word. It has been Holy Spirit prepared and is spiritually ready. It is the most productive. It is 30, 60 and 100 fold fruitful. In the New Testament times, a 10% increase was considered an excellent crop. But God produces more than the mind could imagine. He does “exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us!” Ephesians 3:20
Illustration – Living Churches
The church that is alive and well is a growing one. Where there is no growth there is a problem. Some churches have parking problems, some other churches don’t. Some churches have kids running around making a lot of noise some other churches tend to be very quiet. Some churches usually have more expenses than money, some other churches don’t need to spend much money. Some churches are growing so fast you don’t always know everybody’s name, in some other churches everybody has known everybody’s name for years. Some churches enthusiastically and generously support missions, some other churches keep it all at home. Some churches are filled with tithers; some other churches are filled with tippers. Some churches evangelize, some other churches fossilize. Some churches are always planning for the future, some other churches live in the past. Some churches seek new ministries and new methods, some other churches do not need to.
Our responsibility as believers is to continue doing the work God has given us. We are to remain faithful to the work. The Word of God will do its work. The soil will be prepared by God’s Spirit. We are not responsible for the results…just the efforts which bring the results.
