A New York City businessman moved to the country and bought a piece of land. He went to the local feed and livestock store and talked to the proprietor about how he was going to take up chicken farming. He then asked to buy 100 chicks.
"That’s a lot of chicks," commented the proprietor. "I mean business," the man replied.
A week later the new farmer was back again. "I need another 100 chicks," he said. "Boy, you are serious about this chicken farming," the man told him.
"Yeah," the man replied. "If I can iron out a few problems." "Problems?" asked the proprietor. "Yeah," replied the man, "I think I planted that last batch too close together."
Today we are going to look at a parable that Jesus told about a farmer. On the surface it may seem that the farmer was a bit careless with the seed. But as we will discover it was meant to shock the audience listening to him.
Jesus was a master story teller. That is one reason people were so drawn to him. They did not have books, TV shows, and movies like we do today. So story telling was an art form of entertainment. But Jesus didn’t just tell stories. His stories were in parables. At a Bible study I asked the question, “Does anyone know what a parable is?” One fellow answered, “A riddle.” In a way he was correct. Parables are stories with hidden spiritual meanings. In this particular parable though Jesus explains the meaning of the parable for us. This particular sermon has become known as the parable of the four soils.
Turn to Luke 8:5. “A farmer went out to plant his seed. As he scattered it across his field, some seed fell on a footpath, where it was stepped on, and the birds ate it.”
A farmer went out to plant his seed. The farmer usually carried his seed to his field in a large sack on the back of his donkey. and then the leather bag which he carried under his arm was replenished with seed from the sack. As a rule, the seed was scattered on the ground, and then it was covered over by plowing. Often the farmer walked along, scattering his seed, and then one of his family, or a servant if he had one, followed directly with the plow.
We will also learn about his field. In his field was a well worn path that the dirt had been trampled down so hard that nothing stood a chance to grow on it. Also in his field were areas that contained rocks with a shallow covering of dirt. There was also a part of his field that was over-grown with thorns. And finally the part of his field prepared for planting.
As he scattered his seed, we was not discriminate on where he sowed. He wasted some seed by throwing them on the path that would not be plowed. He wasted seed on rocky soil that would be hard to plow. And he wasted seed on soil covered by bushes that could not be plowed. This was the shock factor to his audience.
Let’s go back to verse 5. “A farmer went out to plant his seed. As he scattered it across his field, some seed fell on a footpath, where it was stepped on, and the birds ate it.”
The farmer purposely threw seed onto the footpath. He knew they would not grow there but choose to sow the seed their anyway. The seed was trampled by travelers and eaten by birds. The seed did not serve the purpose for which it was designed.
Now we are going to jump down to verses 11-12 where Jesus begins explain the meaning of the parable. “This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is God’s word. The seeds that fell on the footpath represent those who hear the message, only to have the devil come and take it away from their hearts and prevent them from believing and being saved.”
The seed is the Gospel, the Good News about Jesus. The soil is the spiritual heart, the root of our emotions that drive us to discover Jesus. The first group is those who are spiritually hardened. The message cannot penetrate through their hardened souls therefore it lies exposed. Their thoughts and actions trample the truth of God’s word and the world steals away their hopes of believing and being saved. They often lash out with anger and bitterness to anyone who approaches them with the Gospel.
The second group is those who are spiritually uncommitted.
Look at verse 6. “Other seed fell among rocks. It began to grow, but the plant soon wilted and died for lack of moisture.” These seeds found a rock with a little dirt crammed into a corner. They take root but there is not a lot of area for growth, so the growth is stunted and the plant dies.
Jesus explains in verse 13. “The seeds on the rocky soil represent those who hear the message and receive it with joy. But since they don’t have deep roots, they believe for a while, and then they fall away when they face temptation.”
This group of folks is those who are at church one Sunday. They hear a message that moves them to tears. They are overwhelmed with joy. Their life changes. Their desire to be closer to God grows strong. They commit themselves for awhile. But then other things begin to come up. They miss Sundays so they are not being fed. The old lifestyle becomes attractive again. They never were able to connect with new friends and the old friends keep dragging them down. Finally they reach a point where following Jesus is not a priority any longer.
The third group is those who are spiritually immature.
Look at verse 7 “Other seed fell among thorns that grew up with it and choked out the tender plants.” These seeds are growing right along with the thorn plants. However, the thorn plants are already established while the plants are competing for nutrition and space. It’s a losing battle and the plants are choked out.
Jesus explains in verse 14. “The seeds that fell among the thorns represent those who hear the message, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the cares and riches and pleasures of this life. And so they never grow into maturity.”
This group is made up of those who have committed themselves to the Gospel. They are believers and followers of Jesus. Their problem lies in the fact that the world has a higher priority than following Jesus. Just as thorns will crowd out the tender plants, so will cares, riches, and pleasures crowd out their relationship with Jesus.
One important way our maturity as believers is measured is in our giving. I warned you last week that we may talk a lot about finances this year. And I said we would do so because Jesus spoke a lot about finances.
Jesus mentions three things that are a problem to the spiritually immature. First is the cares, or worries, of the world. They worry about today, tomorrow, next week, next year, when actually they cannot do anything about the future. Things may be rough right now but if they would think on God’s faithfulness in the past they would realize He will see them through. 1 Peter 5:7 says “Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.” Why not? Only He can decide the outcome so place them in his hands.
Another aspect to immaturity is riches. Those that don’t have want and those that do have want more. When it comes to wealth they cannot be truly satisfied.
Let me tell you how hunters in the jungles of Africa trap monkeys. They slice a coconut in two, hollow it out, and in one half of the shell cut a hole just big enough for a monkey’s hand to pass through. Then they place an orange in the other coconut half before fastening together the two halves of the coconut shell. Finally, they secure the coconut to a tree with a rope, retreat into the jungle, and wait.
Sooner or later, an unsuspecting monkey swings by, smells the delicious orange, and discovers its location inside the coconut. The monkey then slips his hand through the small hole, grasps the orange, and tries to pull it through the hole. Of course, the orange won’t come out; it’s too big for the hole. To no avail the persistent monkey continues to pull and pull.
While the monkey struggles with the orange, the hunters simply stroll in and capture the monkey by throwing a net over him. As long as the monkey keeps his fist wrapped around the orange, the monkey is trapped.
The monkey could save its own life if it would let go of the orange. It rarely occurs to a monkey, however, that it can’t have both the orange and its freedom. That delicious orange becomes a deadly trap.
The world sets traps for us that are not unlike the monkey trap. You hear constantly that if we just have enough money, enough stuff, enough power, and enough prestige--then we’ll be happy. Under that illusion people spend their whole lives thinking you must have it all.
When the spiritually immature clench their fist around their money, refusing to worship God with the provisions He has given them by giving to the place where they are fed and nurtured, they are like that monkey. They are holding onto superficial wealth that one day will be taken from them through death.
Jesus said “Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal.” (Matthew 6:19-20)
We can’t take your money with us. There is no huge vault in heaven storing away all the money we have given to God through a church. There is no ledger where God is keeping a record on how much we have given and then we make withdrawals in the form of blessings based on what is on our ledger. God is offering us joy that comes through giving. God is giving us a freedom from all the traps of the world so that we are free to worship him with our provisions that He provided.
The last sign of the spiritually immature is the pursuit of pleasure. They worship at the foot of the idol of pleasure. Jesus said, “Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.” (Matthew 6:21)
Their treasure is where they put their money. If 100% of their income is going into paying bills and buying necessities, then they are barely making it and that is not being selfish. However, if they are spending more money on the pleasure of dining than the portion they give to God, than their heart’s desire is more on food than God. If they are spending more money on entertainment than the portion they give to God, than their heart’s desire is more on entertainment than God. Their heart’s desire could be on clothes, gizmos, and other assorted things. Like I said last week, you can keep your money. God doesn’t need it. But He does desire that we become mature believers.
The last group is those who are spiritually persevering.
Luke 8:8 “Still other seed fell on fertile soil. This seed grew and produced a crop that was a hundred times as much as had been planted!’ When he had said this, he called out, ‘Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.’”
The seed that fell on the right soil produced a crop that multiplied itself a hundred times. It’s like planting a tomato plant and having fresh tomatoes all season long from that one plant. But that one plant must be planted in fertile soil.
Jesus explains the meaning in verse 15. “And the seeds that fell on the good soil represent honest, good-hearted people who hear God’s word, cling to it, and patiently produce a huge harvest.”
These are the mature believers. Their spiritual heart is softened. They pay attention to the word of God. They apply the word to their lives. They do not let circumstances of life sway them from following God’s word. And because of this they produce good works for the kingdom. They give in the name of Jesus. They serve in the name of Jesus. Every aspect of their lives is Christ centered.
Remember at the beginning we talked about the method for planting seed? The farmer would sow and someone would plow the seed under. Jesus doesn’t identify these two. But they work together to insure a good crop. I want to identify those two.
We are farmers. Go ahead and finish the jingle. You already have it in your head. As believers we are given the charge to sow the seed of the word. The parable teaches us that we are to sow it everywhere. We are to share the word with people who are hard and angry against God. We are to share with people who are shallow and non-committal. We are to share the word with people who are struggling with life and afraid to trust God. We are to share it with other believers as a common interest and a way for us to grow. We are to scatter the seed, not throw into someone’s face. And remember this seed has a never ending supply.
The plowing is the role of the Holy Spirit.
We scatter the seed. The Holy Spirit deals with the condition of the spiritual heart. He is capable of plowing through that heart that has become hardened like a well worn path. He is capable of plowing through the heart that is shallow and filled with rocks. He is capable of plowing through the heart that is tangled with thorns and cares of the world. He is capable of turning each of those spiritual hearts into good soil.
Four types of soil. Four types of hearts. Ask yourself, “What type of spiritual heart do I have?” Have you completely rejected God? If so, I want you to know He hasn’t rejected you. And He never will.
Is your relationship with him shallow? Do you leave church fired up and ready to follow Jesus but by Saturday the fire has died and you are back into your old routines? Don’t give up. Keep coming to church. Let the word get deeper each week. God is a patient God who will not leave you.
Are you an immature believer? Do you struggle with all the temptations that pull you away from God? Do you let cares, riches, and pleasures pull you away from your relationship with Jesus? It’s time to begin walking. Start by taking baby steps. Trust him more each day to care for you.
Are you the mature believer? Are you giving and serving to your maximum? Congratulations. Jesus looks at you and says “Well done.” But everyone one of these soils has the ability to become fertile. We all can become mature believers.
