Seeds Among Thorns
(Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23)
3rd in a Series on: Parable of the Soils
Introduction:
USA Today ran an article on October 25th, 1995 that is a great illustration about priorities. It reads…
“Ronald Warwick, captain of the luxury cruise ship Queen Elizabeth II, questioned a passenger who paid full fare for his dog to join them on an around-the-world cruise. (Accommodations ranged from $25,000 to $150,000.) ‘Wouldn’t it have cost less to leave him at home?’
“‘Oh no,’ the man said. ‘When we are away a long time, the dog’s psychiatrist fees are so high, it’s less expensive to bring him along’” (Edward K. Rowell, 1001 Quotes, Illustrations & Humorous Stories for Preachers, Teachers & Writers (Baker Books: Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1996, 1997), 531).
When our priorities are out of wack, our sensibilities get out of wack. And when our sensibilities are out of wack we can waste a lifetime trying to do something but never accomplishing anything.
William Barclay puts it this way, “It is not the things which are obviously bad which are dangerous. It is the things which are good [which are dangerous], for the ‘second best is always the worst enemy of the best’” (William Barclay, Daily Study Bible Series: The Gospel of Matthew, Vol. 2 (Westminster John Knox Press: Louisville, Kentucky, 1975), 61).
This week, as we get into our discussion about the Parable of the Soils, we’re going to take a closer look at the soil that was full of thorns.
Read with me again,
Matthew 13:1-9 (NLT)
Later that same day, Jesus left the house and went down to the shore, [2] where an immense crowd soon gathered. He got into a boat, where he sat and taught as the people listened on the shore. [3] He told many stories such as this one:
"A farmer went out to plant some seed. [4] As he scattered it across his field, some seeds fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate them. [5] Other seeds fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The plants sprang up quickly, [6] but they soon wilted beneath the hot sun and died because the roots had no nourishment in the shallow soil. [7] Other seeds fell among thorns that shot up and choked out the tender blades. [8] But some seeds fell on fertile soil and produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted. [9] Anyone who is willing to hear should listen and understand!"
Matthew 13:18-23 (NLT)
"Now here is the explanation of the story I told about the farmer sowing grain: [19] The seed that fell on the hard path represents those who hear the Good News about the Kingdom and don’t understand it. Then the evil one comes and snatches the seed away from their hearts. [20] The rocky soil represents those who hear the message and receive it with joy. [21] But like young plants in such soil, their roots don’t go very deep. At first they get along fine, but they wilt as soon as they have problems or are persecuted because they believe the word. [22] The thorny ground represents those who hear and accept the Good News, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the cares of this life and the lure of wealth, so no crop is produced. [23] The good soil represents the hearts of those who truly accept God’s message and produce a huge harvest—thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted."
There are two different things that Jesus tells us results in “thorny ground” in a person’s life; and it’s these two things that I want us to take a look at today.
The first thing Jesus said the thorny ground represents is:
1. The cares and worries of this life.
“Film maker Walt Disney was ruthless in cutting anything that got in the way of a story’s pacing. Ward Kimball, one of the animators for Snow White, recalls working 240 days on a 4 ½ minute sequence in which the dwarfs made soup for Snow White and almost destroyed the kitchen in the process. Disney thought it was funny, but he decided the scene stopped the flow of the picture, so out it went” (Craig Brian Larson, 750 Engaging Illustrations for Preachers, Teachers & Writers (Baker Books: Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1993, 1996, 1998), 559).
What is it that stops the flow of the picture of God in your life? What is it that hinders you from growing to your fullest potential.
There will be things in your life that pull and tug at you relentlessly; things you may even have a great desire to do. But many times these things that are vying for your attention are merely distractions from the more important things in life.
Worry is like this. It can be very menacing and debilitating. It can take our focus off of the important things in life, and lay waste to our inner stability and faith in Christ. Worry immobilizes feelings of fear and attacks us at the very core of our being. Inevitably worry can become the thorny ground that chokes out all life. It can smother us, make us paranoid, and drive us to make life-altering decisions out of fear.
Worry also keeps us from taking risks and doing things that are completely necessary. Worry forces our focus from God and others onto our selves. Worry forces us to become ingrown. And as I’ve mentioned before, things that are ingrown become infected. And infection if left untreated always leads to death.
Now, I know I’ve talked a lot about worry and its effects on our lives, but I also know it’s something most of us deal with on a daily basis. Jesus knew this too, that’s why he talked so much about it. God knows that worry is a worthless tool of the enemy that strikes us at our core, and paralyzes us. Worry grabs us by the throat and keeps a strangle hold on us forcing us to become hermits in certain areas of our lives.
Some examples I’ve mentioned before are: The fear of car accidents keeps some people from driving, or letting their children drive. The fear of plane crashes or terrorist attacks keeps many from flying. The fear of communicable diseases keeps many people from going into public places where others gather.
Or what about this story that Time Magazine ran on August 14, 1989:
As the article reads, it’s “the sad story of a man from East Detroit who died of fear. He had taken a number of fur-trapping expeditions over the years and had been bitten by his share of ticks. Then he heard about Lyme disease, which is carried by deer ticks. He became obsessed with the fear that he had been bitten in the past by a tick with the disease and that he had passed the disease to his wife.
“Doctors tested him and assured him he didn’t have Lyme disease and that, even if he did, the disease was virtually impossible to transmit to his wife. But the man didn’t believe the doctors. Paranoid, because of the disease, the man killed his wife and then himself.
“The police found the man’s mailbox jammed with material describing Lyme disease and a slip confirming a doctor’s appointment for yet another Lyme-disease test.
“Fear distorts a person’s sense of reality. Fear consumes a person’s energy and thoughts. [Ultimately] fear controls” (Craig Brian Larson, 750 Engaging Illustrations for Preachers, Teachers & Writers (Baker Books: Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1993, 1996, 1998), 226).
The truth is: fear is a result of worry that’s left unattended.
The cares and the worries in this life won’t add a single day to our life. So why worry?
We should handle worry the way Paul instructed the Philippians:
Philippians 4:6 (NLT)
Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.
2. The lure of wealth, or what we might call the magnetism of materialism.
“Finns [people from Finland] who can’t get enough of winter swarmed to the northern town of Kemi for the opening of a sprawling ice castle that features a theatre, a playground, an art gallery, and a chapel.
“Thirty workers took three months to build a castle with 13-foot walls stretching for 1650 feet.
“An Orthodox Church chapel, hewn from ice, has been booked for weddings and christenings. The theater has a capacity of 3000 and features rock and pop concerts, musicals, modern dance, opera recitals, and popular operas.
[Here’s the kicker.]
“Construction and upkeep costs are estimated to be $1.1 million, yet the castle always melts sometime in mid-April.
“The melting ice serves as a reminder that all the material things in this world will one day pass away” (1001 Quotes, Illustrations & Humorous Stories for Preachers, Teachers & Writers, 329).
I think when we truly realize that the things of this world are fading and passing away we have a better perspective on the material world. But all too often the buzz of new and exciting things on the market lures us like a fish to a worm on a hook.
Material things can have such a mesmerizing effect on us that we trick ourselves into believing that we aren’t as happy as we thought we were. We believe we will never be as happy until we have the object of our desire, whatever that might be.
The latest and greatest technology, that new pair of shoes (even though we have a closet full of shoes already), those new earrings,
None of these things are inherently bad in and of themselves, but when they become the object of our desire we cross over the boundary of healthy living and into the realm of vanity. And vanity being heavy laden with pride ultimately becomes our downfall.
Keeping things in perspective is a difficult thing indeed, but it’s a must to live a full and abundant life. When we discipline our selves to seek God first in everything, our lives become so much more meaningful.
A good test to see whether or not the lure of wealth or material things has become the thorny soil in your life is to do what I call the “24/7 fast.”
If you see something you want, you want to see if it has a strangle hold on you, for a full week take time to pray about it [and no, this isn’t as silly as it sounds], take some time to seriously weigh the pros and cons of having it. Ask questions like: “Is this something I could live without? Why, or why not? Will this put me into debt? How will this thing make my life better? How will this affect my relationship with God? How will this affect my relationship with others?” The list could go on, but I think you get the picture.
This, for me, has become the great process of elimination. It’s by doing this that I’ve learned what has a strangle hold on me.
Now, before you get this picture of me condemning you for having toys, don’t misconstrue the essence of what I’m saying here. Things in and of themselves aren’t bad. It’s only when they become the priority in our life that a problem arises.
The magnetism of materialism can become a dangerous thing if not kept in check. We do well to remember this key verse:
Matthew 6:33 (KJV)
But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Conclusion:
So, again, it all boils down to priorities! Living among the weeds and the thorns is a complete result of living a second rate life of worry and materialism. Living among the weeds happens when second best becomes our priority, and we place God, and our relationship with him, on the back-burner of life.
Phillip Keller writes:
“The instant an individual determines to put Christ at the center of his life, to give Him the place of priority and consideration, he is out of the woods. He is no longer lost among the weeds of worry and concern. The ground of his being is cleared of the confusing entanglements of his contemporaries. There is now time and space to produce fruit for God of eternal consequence” (W. Phillip Keller, A Gardener Looks at the Fruits of the Spirit (Word Books: Waco Texas, 1979), 52).
So, how about it? Are you allowing the weeds of life, of worry, and of things to stunt your growth and strangle out all the life that God longs to plant within you?
I think it’s time to take a stand and get rid of those things that are choking the life out of you. It’s time to live a full, abundant life in Christ!
