RTS Charlotte: Women's Bible Study w/ Dr. Mike Kruger- The Gospel of Mark, Episode 7
Summary
TLDRIn this thought-provoking sermon, the speaker delves into Jesus' Parable of the Sower, unveiling profound insights into the growth of God's kingdom. Through a masterful analysis of the parable's elements – the seed (the gospel), the sower (those who spread it), and the soil (the human heart) – the speaker emphasizes that the advancement of the kingdom hinges on the response of individual hearts, not the quality of the message or the messenger. The parable illuminates the various soil types, representing different heart conditions, and underscores that only hearts receptive to the Word bear spiritual fruit. Ultimately, the speaker challenges listeners to self-reflect on their own heart's condition and surrender to God's transformative work, aligning themselves with the good soil that yields an abundant harvest for the kingdom.
Takeaways
- 🌱 The kingdom of God grows gradually and mysteriously, like a small seed becoming a large tree, rather than all at once.
- 💬 The seed represents the word or message of the gospel, which has inherent power to produce fruit when it lands on good soil.
- 🙍♂️ The sower represents those who spread the word, and the effectiveness is not determined by the sower's skill or eloquence.
- 🌎 The different types of soil represent the various conditions of the human heart in receiving the word: the path (hardened), rocky ground (shallow), thorns (distracted), and good soil (receptive).
- 👿 Satan tries to snatch away the word from hardened hearts, preventing it from taking root.
- ⛅ Fair-weather hearts initially receive the word joyfully but fall away when difficulties or persecution arise.
- 💰 Distracted hearts are choked by the cares of the world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things.
- 🌳 True believers with good soil hear, accept, and bear fruit, though the degree of fruitfulness varies (30, 60, or 100-fold).
- 🙏 The advancement of the kingdom is ultimately determined by the response of individual human hearts, which God alone can soften and make receptive.
- 🔍 Self-examination is crucial to identify the condition of one's own heart and to pray for God's work in softening and transforming it.
Q & A
What is the main topic or theme of the sermon?
-The main topic of the sermon is the Parable of the Sower from the Gospel of Mark, and how it relates to the advancement of the Kingdom of God.
What is the definition of the Kingdom of God according to the sermon?
-The Kingdom of God is not a physical location or place, but rather refers to God's reign or rule manifesting itself and spreading throughout the world.
What are the three main elements discussed in the Parable of the Sower?
-The three main elements are: 1) The seed, representing the Word of God or the Gospel message; 2) The sower, representing those who spread the Gospel; and 3) The soil, representing the different conditions or states of the human heart.
Why does the sermon emphasize that the problem is not with the seed (the Gospel message)?
-The sermon emphasizes that the Gospel message itself is not the problem when it comes to the advancement of the Kingdom of God. The seed (the Word of God) has power and potential when it falls on the right soil (a receptive heart).
What does the sermon say about the role of the sower (the one spreading the Gospel message)?
-The sermon states that the problem is not with the sower either. Even if the sower is not the most eloquent or skilled, their role is to faithfully spread the seed (the Gospel message), and God will use it as he intends.
What are the four types of soil or hearts mentioned in the Parable of the Sower?
-The four types of soil or hearts are: 1) The path (hard heart where the seed does not take root), 2) The rocky ground (heart that receives the Word with joy but falls away when faced with difficulty), 3) The thorns (heart distracted by the cares and riches of the world), and 4) The good soil (receptive heart that bears fruit).
What is the significance of the different levels of fruit-bearing (thirty-fold, sixty-fold, and a hundred-fold) mentioned in the parable?
-The different levels of fruit-bearing signify that not all believers bear the same amount of fruit, but all true believers will bear some fruit as evidence of their faith.
What is the main lesson or takeaway from the Parable of the Sower according to the sermon?
-The main lesson is that the advancement of the Kingdom of God is determined by the response of individual human hearts. The sower's role is to spread the seed (the Gospel message), but God is the one who softens hearts to receive it.
How does the sermon encourage believers to examine their own hearts?
-The sermon encourages believers to examine their own hearts and identify which type of soil or heart they might be tempted by (the path, rocky ground, or thorns), even if they are ultimately the good soil. It also encourages prayer for God to change and soften their hearts.
What is the role of the believer in advancing the Kingdom of God according to the sermon?
-The role of the believer is to faithfully sow the seed (share the Gospel message) and leave the softening of hearts and the advancement of the Kingdom to God's work.
Outlines
🗣️ Opening Remarks and Context for the Parable
The speaker introduces the context for the day's discussion, which is focused on Jesus's parable of the sower in Mark 4:1-20. He highlights that this is one of Jesus's most famous parables and provides a unique interpretation from Jesus himself, making it particularly significant. The central theme of the parable is the kingdom of God, which will dominate the discussion. The speaker sets the stage for exploring the parable and understanding how the kingdom of God grows.
🤴 Understanding the Kingdom of God
The speaker delves into explaining the concept of the kingdom of God, which is central to understanding Jesus's parables. He clarifies that the kingdom of God is not a physical location or place, but rather a way of describing God's reign or rule in the world. It represents the manifestation and spread of God's sovereignty throughout the world. While God is always sovereign, the kingdom refers to the active establishment of God's will on earth, akin to the Lord's Prayer's petition, 'Thy kingdom come.' The kingdom is about heaven coming to earth, not merely about going to heaven after death.
🌱 The Growth of the Kingdom: Expectations vs. Reality
This section discusses the expectations surrounding the growth of the kingdom of God. Many expected the kingdom to come in a single, powerful, apocalyptic moment, conquering all evil at once. However, Jesus teaches that the kingdom grows gradually, slowly, and even invisibly, starting small but eventually becoming what God intended. This idea is likened to a mustard seed that becomes a large tree. The parable of the sower illustrates this concept, showing that the kingdom advances through the response of individual human hearts.
🌾 The Seed: The Word of the Kingdom
The speaker explains that in the parable, the seed represents the word of God, the good news of the kingdom. He addresses the temptation to modify or change the message (the seed) when it is not received well by some. However, the speaker emphasizes that the problem is not with the message itself, as Jesus does not suggest anywhere in the parable that the seed is bad. The seed (the word of God) has enormous power and potential if it lands in the right soil (heart). Therefore, the message should not be altered or compromised.
🧑🌾 The Sower: Faithful Proclamation
This section focuses on the role of the sower, who spreads the word of the kingdom. The speaker clarifies that the sower represents anyone who proclaims or shares the good news of the gospel, not just pastors or ministry professionals. He acknowledges the temptation to think that the reason the kingdom does not advance is due to the sower's inadequacy or lack of skill in evangelism. However, the parable does not place the problem on the sower. The speaker encourages faithful proclamation, even if one does not feel particularly eloquent or skilled, trusting that God will use it as intended.
🌎 The Soils: The State of the Human Heart
The speaker delves into the crux of the parable, which is the different types of soil representing the various states of the human heart in receiving the word. He discusses the four types of soil: the path (hard-hearted), the rocky ground (fair-weathered heart), the thorns (distracted heart), and the good soil (receptive heart). Only the good soil produces fruit, representing true believers who hear, accept, and bear fruit. The advance of the kingdom is determined by the response of individual human hearts, which God alone can soften and prepare.
🌳 The Fruitful Heart: True Believers
This section focuses on the good soil, representing true believers who hear the word, accept it, and bear fruit. The speaker emphasizes that bearing fruit is not the cause of salvation but rather the evidence of a softened heart that loves Jesus. Different believers may bear different levels of fruit (30-fold, 60-fold, 100-fold), but all true believers will bear some fruit as a mark of their genuine faith. The speaker encourages self-examination to determine the state of one's own heart and a reliance on God to soften and change hearts.
💡 Lessons and Application
The speaker summarizes the key lessons from the parable. The advance of the kingdom is determined by the response of individual human hearts, which only God can soften. The believer's role is to faithfully sow the word (the good news) and trust God with the outcome. While acknowledging the temptations to modify the message or question one's ability to share it effectively, the speaker emphasizes relying on God's work in changing hearts. The parable prompts self-examination to determine the state of one's own heart and a prayerful dependence on God to continually soften and transform hearts.
🙏 Closing Prayer
The speaker concludes with a prayer, acknowledging the convicting and encouraging aspects of the parable. He prays for trust in God's control over the advancement of His kingdom and for faithfulness in doing the part God has asked believers to play – sowing the word. The prayer also expresses a desire for God to change and soften hearts, including the hearts of believers, to trust Him more fully.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Kingdom of God
💡Parable
💡Sower
💡Seed
💡Soil
💡Bearing Fruit
💡Hardened Heart
💡Fair-weather Heart
💡Distracted Heart
💡Good Soil
Highlights
Jesus uses the parable of the sower to explain why the kingdom of God advances in some people's hearts and not others, and it has to do with the condition of the soil (the human heart) rather than the seed (the word/gospel) or the sower (the one sharing the gospel).
The kingdom of God refers to God's reign or rule manifesting itself in the world, not a physical location or geographical entity. It's about heaven coming to earth, God's will being done on earth as it is in heaven.
We tend to blame the seed (message) or the sower (the one sharing the gospel) when people don't respond to the gospel, but Jesus says the problem isn't with the seed or the sower.
The four types of soil represent different conditions of the human heart: the path (hardened heart that doesn't receive the word), the rocky ground (initially receives the word joyfully but falls away during difficulty), the thorns (the word is choked by worries and riches of this world), and the good soil (receives the word and bears fruit).
True believers will bear fruit (evidence of a soft heart that receives the word), though at different levels (some 30-fold, some 60-fold, some 100-fold). Bearing fruit isn't the cause of salvation, but the result.
Our role is to faithfully sow the seed (share the gospel), while God's role is to soften hearts to receive it. The advance of the kingdom is determined by the response of individual human hearts, which God ultimately controls.
We can't control or change someone else's heart, but we should pray for God to change our own hearts to trust Him more and bear more fruit.
Even if we have a good heart that receives the word, we can still be tempted by the tendencies of the other types of soil (hardness, distractedness, fair-weathered faith).
The power and message of the gospel (the seed) should not be modified or changed, as the seed itself is good and has incredible potential if it lands on good soil.
Our evangelism efforts shouldn't be hindered by thinking we're inadequate sowers (not eloquent or skilled enough). The problem isn't the sower, so we should faithfully share the gospel, trusting God to use it.
Some people initially look like believers but ultimately prove not to be, as evidenced by their lack of fruit. Only those with good soil truly persevere.
Persecution and suffering are common reasons why some fall away (the fair-weathered heart), unable to endure difficulties that come with following Christ.
The distractive heart is often tempted by the cares of the world, the deceitfulness of riches, and desires for other things, which choke out the word.
Even true believers can struggle with being tempted by the distractions of the world and the love of money, so we need to examine where our affections truly lie.
The goal isn't to always be on a spiritual high, but to have a general trajectory and delight in Christ more than the things of the world.
Transcripts
[Music]
foreign
let's turn our attention to what we're
looking at today so in the gospel of
Mark
let's look at Chapter 4 verses 1 through
20. and as you're turning there you'll
recognize that this is arguably one of
Jesus's most famous parables
this is the beginning of the discussion
of Parables and the gospel of Mark it's
what we might call Jesus as paradigmatic
Parable and here's why it's a
paradigmatic parable in the gospel of
Mark because he actually interprets it
for us how about that
you know so many parables he tells
we have to figure out what they mean
right but in this particular Parable as
you know and as you'll see the disciples
come to Jesus after he tells the Pharaoh
and go what did you mean and Jesus says
well let me tell you what I meant and
this is one of the few times we have a
recorded interpretation
of the parable which makes it
particularly significant and also as
you'll see the theme Here is the kingdom
of God which of course will dominate our
discussions today so let's listen uh to
this Parable and what God has to teach
us from it today starting in verse 1 of
chapter four
again he began to teach beside the sea
and a very large crowd gathered about
him so that he got into a boat and sat
in it on the sea and the whole crowd was
beside the Sea on the land and he was
teaching them many things in parables
and in his teaching he said to them
listen
A sower went out to sow
and as he sowed some seed fell along the
path and the birds came and devoured it
other seed fell on the rocky ground or
did not have much soil and immediately
it sprang up since it had no depth of
soil and when the sun rose it was
scorched and since it had no rooted
withered away
other seed fell among the thorns and
Thorns grew up and choked it and it
yielded no grain and other seeds found a
good soil and produced grain growing up
and increasing and yielding 30-fold and
60 fold and 100 fold
and he said he who has ears to hear
let him hear
when he was alone those around him with
the twelve asked him about the parables
and he said to you has been given the
secret of the kingdom of God but for
those on the outside everything is in
Parable so they may indeed see but not
perceive
and it may indeed hear but not
understand unless they should turn and
be forgiven
and he said to them do you not
understand this Parable how then will
you understand all the Parables the
sower so is the word
and these words 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
and these are the ones thrown on the
rocky ground the ones who when they hear
the word immediately receive it with joy
and they have no root in themselves but
endure for a while then when tribulation
or persecution arises on account of the
word
immediately they fall away
and others are the one sown among the
Thorns they are those who hear the word
but the cares of the world and the
deceitfulness of riches and the desires
for other things enter in and choke the
word and proven unfruitful
but those that were sown on the good
soil
are the ones that hear the word
and accept it and bear fruit thirty-fold
and sixty-fold in a hundred fold
all right lot there this is an amazing
Parable we've got a lot to learn today
let me pray we'll ask God to bless it as
we jump in
Lord we we admit that we sometimes just
don't understand how the kingdom grows
and Lord we sort of blame all kinds of
things that maybe aren't even the reason
for why it doesn't
would help us to realize that the real
issue is
the human heart the soil on which the
seed lands and how that responds and
Lord help us to be those like the last
of the soils soft hearts that believe
you and follow you we pray this in
Christ's name
amen
so over the last number of years I have
this little fall routine I've done and
I've stopped it recently because I've
just hired someone else to do it
honestly
um but for years what I used to do is
what many I'm sure you of you do in your
household about mid-september rolls
around and I dutifully get in my car and
drive to Home Depot on some Saturday and
buy an enormous bag of grass seed which
I can hardly carry to the car
um and then I go to the back and I buy a
bale of straw or or whatever and put
that in the car makes a big mess and I
drag it back to the house
and of course as my lawn has gone
through the summer it's all half dead
right and parts of patches are showing
and what I have to do I have to reseed
my lawn every year this happens so I get
a open the bag and I get a big handful
of seed and I walk across my lawn and
what do I do I start throwing it right
and every time I do this I start
thinking about this Parable I'm like I
am the sower right and I sow it and I'm
the seed just flutters in the wind and
lands on the ground and I'm proud of
myself because I have some agricultural
farmer dimension in my life finally uh
and I throw it out there and then I put
some straw over the top of it Pour some
water on it then I wait
and you know how this story goes you
wait and wait and wait and wait and
you're like where what is going on with
my with my seed and then eventually
usually about a month later you see it
right in parts of the lawn that little
green starts to sprout up poking through
the straw and you see it but inevitably
also when I go to Milan I'm amazed of
why it grew in some places and not
others
like a look and I can see this one part
of the lawn is just all this fresh new
grass is going to be beautiful next
spring this other part of the lawn
there's there's the seed it's still it's
just dead it's not doing anything
in other parts of the lawn I look at I
know I threw the seed there and there's
nothing there like what happened to the
seed it's gone I don't know what it is
so every year you have this sort of
scenario where you're like well you did
your job
but it didn't grow
then other times you do your job and it
does grow
this of course is the parable of the
sower which is Jesus's way of talking to
us about the way the kingdom grows and
so today we begin this discussion of the
kingdom of God and Jesus is going to
surprise us to some extent here by
saying yes the kingdom grows but not
like you think it does
it doesn't come all at once in some big
powerful act it grows slowly
incrementally even invisibly over time
but eventually it does exactly what God
intends it to do so we're going to have
to deal with that issue of why some
people respond to the gospel and not
others you ever wondered that
ever wondered how two people could sit
in the Pew in a church and both hear the
same message at the same time in the
same place
one leave and think that is true I
believe it and another leave and they've
heard the same message and they say I
don't think that's true at all and I
think that's rubbish and you're like
what why did why does the why does it
work in some instances and not in others
why does my grass grow in some place and
not in others
what we're going to learn in this
Parable is that we tend to blame the
wrong things
we're going to see that this Parable has
sort of three parts to it okay there's
the seed
right because that's what's scattered
then there's the sower doing the
scattering right and then there's the
soils on which it lands three s's today
it's quite easy actually to remember
where we're going to go the seed the
sower the soil
here's what we're going to discover we
tend to blame the ver the first two
things as the reason the kingdom doesn't
grow some got to be something wrong with
the seed you know there's several times
in my life I'm like going back to Home
Depot getting my money back there's
something wrong with your seed you know
they're gonna look at me like I think
the problem is somewhere else not the
seed right or maybe I blame myself maybe
I'm not very good at throwing the seed
right maybe I just need to work on my
wrist snap a little better or something
right I'm just a bad sewer okay maybe
but I think we all know that's really
the third thing is the issue right why
the seed grows or doesn't grow or why
the kingdom advances or doesn't Advance
is actually more to do with the soil it
lands on which as we'll see in the
parable is the state of the human heart
that the soil gets to
now
when you look at your outline you can
see these are going to be our three
points there's three points on your
outline
you can look at Point number one reason
the kingdom advances or doesn't is not
because of the seed Point number two
reason the kingdom Advance or doesn't is
not because of the sower and the reason
the king of Advance or doesn't is
because of the soil now
that's where we're going but before we
get there one brief sidebar what in the
world is the kingdom of God anyway
now see at the top of your outline there
I give you a little bit of a definition
because we need to get this straight
this Parable and the next few Parables
all have to do with how the kingdom of
God grows so if you're gonna understand
The Parables you need to understand what
the kingdom of God is
now here's what's interesting about
Christians and churches today they don't
actually think much about this phrase
kingdom of God even though Jesus talked
about it all the time
remember Jesus's very first sermon in
the gospel of Mark what is this from the
kingdom of God is at hand
if you don't understand what the kingdom
of God is you don't even understand what
Jesus's whole message is about
so here's what we realize about the
kingdom of God the kingdom of God when
we hear the term we think well is this a
location
is this a place is the kingdom of God a
country a geopolitical entity is it a
place with boundaries and borders is it
a castle or a big building what is this
kingdom of God
well what we're going to discover is the
kingdom of God is none of those things
it's not a Locale it's not a location
it's not a geographical center the
kingdom of God is a way of describing
God's Reign or his rule in the world
when the kingdom of God comes that's
when God's Reign comes and manifests
itself in the world and spreads
throughout the world
now at one level you're thinking but God
isn't God always reigning isn't God
always in charge yes of course he is
right God is in heaven and on a
providential sovereign level he's always
King over everything but we also know
another thing is true that kingdom is
not necessarily always manifested in our
lives or in the world we can see the
king some places the kingdom appears to
be there and other places the kingdom
has not yet come and so even though God
Is sovereignly Over All
we can see in our world that it is not
yet under the full Dominion of Christ
because of all the wickedness and evil
in it so the kingdom of God is God
spreading his rule in his Reign around
the world
this is actually what you say in the
Lord's Prayer if you thought about it
um when you think about say basically
you know uh May what's true in heaven be
true on earth right uh basically you
know when you talk about the the the the
kingdom coming it's basically let your
will be done on Earth as it is in heaven
in other words the kingdom of God is not
so much about us going to heaven but
Heaven coming to Earth
okay I'm going to say that again the
kingdom of God is not so much about us
going to heaven but God taking his
Heavenly Reign and bringing it down to
earth
now this is an important paradigm shift
for all of us because when we think
about the Christian Life we tend to
think about the Christian Life as am I
saved does am I forgiven for my sins and
if I die do I go to heaven by the way
that's a really important question right
no one's minimizing that question but
that's not the only thing Jesus wants to
talk about he doesn't want to just talk
about whether you die whether you go to
have an internal life he also wants to
talk about God's Reign coming down
to the world in manifesting itself in
history and in time in other words the
world is going somewhere
so when you talk about the kingdom of
God now you're talking about a
horizontal timeline right what is God
doing in the world to bring about his
Rule and reign it's not so much whether
you just personally
die and go to heaven if you believe in
Jesus but what is Jesus at work in the
world doing okay so this is the spread
of the Kingdom this idea that the when
when the king comes at his rule of Reign
goes throughout the world so when it
when we start thinking about the kingdom
we want to know what what
how's it advance
and here's here's the reality when we
think about the kingdom of God coming we
kind of want it to advance all at once
don't we
and by the way this was the expectation
in Jesus day
when he came the Jews in his day wanted
God to bring the kingdom in one Fell
Swoop one big moment flex your muscles
God conquer all the enemies of God
conquer all evil in the world and bring
your kingdom all at one moment
but Jesus says well it's not going to
come quite like that it's not going to
come in some apocalyptic moment all at
once it's going to come gradually
it's going to come slowly it's going to
come in a way that it starts off small
and seemingly insignificant but
eventually grows and becomes what I
intended to it starts like a mustard
seed right
you think oh that'll never become
anything but then over time it grows
into a large tree that is the way the
kingdom of God grows so it's mysterious
okay now that same idea pops up in this
parable of the sower the kingdom of God
doesn't come all at once it's Advanced
through the response and the hearts of
human beings
sometimes the seed falls on good soil
sometimes it falls on bad soil but the
kingdom is going to grow and fits and
starts it's like my lawn right my lawn
doesn't all grow at once in the way I
want it to it grows and fits and starts
in good patches and bad patches and if I
had if I had a great consummated lawn
someday it would be perfectly green
everywhere right but it's not there yet
someday God is going to bring his full
Kingdom in the meantime it comes and
fits and starts little by little okay so
I've given this little excursis on the
kingdom of God because that's going to
frame our whole discussion okay now back
to the outline let's talk about the
three things the the reasons why the
kingdom advances or doesn't advance and
let's start with Roman numeral one there
which is the seed now in this story
Jesus says there's a guy who goes out
and he's casting seed and thankfully he
interprets the seed for us right look
down at verse 14.
the sower
sows the word
notice in the explanation part it's
clear that the sower is not just sowing
a seed but it's symbolically a picture
of the word
this is a common phrase of course
throughout the Bible is what what people
do when they talk about the kingdom is
they're they're spreading the word of
the Kingdom the good news of the Kingdom
the announcement of the Kingdom
so what is the word
the word is the gospel right the word is
the announcement that the King has come
the King has come and this king is going
to take back what rightly belongs to him
this is his world and he's willing to
rule it
think about
this one of the most beloved stories out
there which of course is uh Lion the
Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S Lewis
right
of course in the story when uh the
children make it into Narnia there is
someone ruling there
but it's not the rightful King right
it's the White Witch and it's always
winter never Christmas right it's like
the worst thing for a child so the only
reason Winner's worth it is because you
get Christmas imagine having a winner
never Christmas right so here this this
Kingdom of Frozen coldness run by the
witch
but then as we all know there's a real
king
Aslan who is on the way and when he
comes he's basically going to spread his
kingdom right and so in the story Aslan
shows up and he's the rightful King
taking back his rightful uh place on the
throne and when he shows up what happens
the snow starts to melt okay
this is the mark of the new ruler in
town this is what the kingdom is like
when you see the snow melting out there
in the world right righteousness
starting to come back in this is the
example of God coming and reigning and
so what you have here in this particular
story is that you announce that right
you Proclaim it Jesus Aslan is the
rightful King and he is offering
forgiveness to anyone who will follow
him that is the message of the Kingdom
but as we've already seen
that doesn't always produce a result
so here's what happens we tend to think
when we don't get a result that the
problem's the seed
we tend to think well maybe there's a
problem with the message right maybe
there's a problem with with with this
thing I'm announcing because I think
it's good news but a lot of people don't
take it as good news some people take it
as bad news and then here's the
Temptation I want to mention here
because that's true for all of us we're
tempted at this point then to think
maybe I should fix the seed
maybe I should modify the seed
or put another way maybe I should change
the message
maybe I should make the message a little
more this or a little more of that and
that is what will advance the kingdom of
God in other words the reason the
kingdom of God's not going forward is
because there's got to be something
wrong with the message
you ever feel like that
I know that I do when I talk to people
so what are some of the things that we
are tempted to change
in the message
let's talk about that for a moment
because I think we all have those
conversations we're like I know I'm
delivering this good news of the Kingdom
I said the person I'm talking to doesn't
think it's good news so maybe the
problem is the message maybe I need to
fix it yeah
okay one of the big things about the
message already seen this so far in the
gospel of Mark is that part of the
message of the good news is starting
with the bad news what is the bad news
well you're a sinner right you're sick
and you need a doctor the good news is
there is a doctor a physician of the
Soul Jesus but you can't go to the
doctor unless you know that you're
you're a sinner that you're sick we've
already seen Jesus make this point
remember the paralytic lower to the roof
what's he say to this guy your sins are
forgiven you've got sin and it needs to
be forgiven okay that's a part of the
message you're like well let's not talk
about Sin very much because that's going
to make people uncomfortable what else
okay this is a big one okay whenever you
talk about coming to Christ and
believing in him and being saved
obviously the message of the Gospel the
message of the kingdom is there's just
one king
it's not multiple Kings there's not just
like you get to pick your king
what if that's the way it was we'll just
pick the king you like no there's
there's a there's a kingdom and there's
a king
you either follow them or you don't but
there's only one option there's only one
way
this is one of the most offensive things
in the world isn't it because our world
is a world of pluralism it's a world of
post-modernity it's a world that says
there's no real absolute truth there's
no one way to God and here we are having
a message like the king loves you wants
to have a relationship with you wants to
save you but there's not any other king
out there this is the king there's just
Aslan right
um and that's going to be offensive what
else we want to change in the message
yeah
yes
yes this is one of the tough things the
wrath of God right judgment from God
some of you were here from our Romans uh
Bible study uh this is now many years
ago the very opening chapter of Romans
starts with this remember Paul on that
book is going to tell you the good news
of the Gospel but he starts with the bad
news and he uses the phrase the wrath of
God in chapter one of Romans not easy
for people to swallow that understand
that and believe that I get that here's
the point I want you to see
even when we throw the seat out there
and tell people the good news that the
kingdom has arrived they're not always
going to receive it but the problem
isn't the message nowhere in this
parable
does Jesus say well the reason it grows
doesn't grow sometimes you just got bad
seed this never happens in the parable
the seed is good there's nothing wrong
with it we need to make sure that we're
not changing the message or modifying
the message as we send it out
the power think about ever thought about
the power in a seed
so tiny so little but yet given the
right circumstances and the right
conditions that thing can just it's
incredible think about it Jesus talks
about this with a mustard seed right
tiny little seed becomes a big tree
that's that's an amazing potential power
so when you share the gospel with
somebody
I know it's hard I know it's easy to
think that this message is offensive and
problematic and maybe I can adjust the
message or modify the message you know
the problem is not the message stick
with the message okay because the
message has enormous power and potential
if it lands in the right spot okay
second thing I want you to see in your
notes today is the reason the kingdom of
answers doesn't is not because of the
sower
this is our second s in our little
series okay so if it's if if I go back
to Home Depot and say hey your seat's
bad they're going to be like well it's
probably you buddy that don't know what
you're doing right and maybe we think
that about evangelism maybe we think
that about spraying the kingdom maybe we
think well
if someone doesn't come to Christ then
maybe I'm a bad
sort of sower right I did yeah the
message is fine maybe you'll concede
that but maybe the problem is the way I
deliver it okay and this is uh the
second thing you want to talk about in
this Parable so what is the sower
the sower is referring to again those
who spread the good news of the Gospel
who announced the kingdom back to verse
14 again the sower sows the word so
anybody that proclaims announces shares
the good news of the king
they're a sewer what that means that
means you're a sower
and I'm a sewer no the sower is not just
pastors
okay the sower is not just people who
are paid to be in Ministry or something
like this
the sower not just your church staff
every believer who loves Jesus and
shares him with another person is a
sower right we're all to be part of this
great Kingdom advancement by spreading
the good news of the Gospel but this of
course is right where we come to it the
second concern we have well money for
the problem is on the sea maybe the
problem is the the way I'm sewing the
seed
and we tend to think that maybe I just
don't have the right technique in my
evangelism uh maybe I need to be more
witty
maybe I need to be more funny or more uh
sort of persuasive or more eloquent or
articulate
and we think well golly maybe if I just
took a couple evangelism classes then it
would then it would really stick when I
talk to people
now I'm not suggesting for a moment that
there's not a lot to learn about how to
do evangelism and I'm not suggesting for
a moment that we can't get better at
doing evangelism
but I think we can say plainly that in
this Parable Jesus does not put the
problem on the sower
nowhere does he say well the reason the
kingdom doesn't grow it doesn't grow
just need a new sower
is the problem no in the parable the
sower is not the problem
even if you're not very good at sewing
think about me in like my lawn I mean
how much skills I really take to throw
the seed on my lawn okay well I mean I'm
sure that someone can do it better than
me but generally speaking you get to see
it out there you got the seed out there
right you don't have to be actually
really sophisticated about the way you
do it so let's talk about this for a
moment we don't do evangelism let's be
honest we don't witness to people
because we think
that we're not going to be good enough
at it right look at my question at the
bottom of point B what are some of the
reasons we resist doing evangelism
where we end up really thinking more
about ourselves and about God yeah
yes yeah
yeah so you're like a used car symbol
salesman at that point right it's like
well I know we're having this meeting
and I've shared the Faith with you let's
let's get out the paper and sign the
contract and close this deal and if I
don't do that I feel like I've failed or
something like that and then of course
the other side of that is that makes
that person feel like they're a project
right that they're like well you're just
trying to you know put a little notch in
your belt here so that's that's one of
the reasons perhaps yeah
is work to understand the word yes
if you're going to share the word with
someone you kind of have to know the
word right and so that's going to take
effort that's going to take study and
knowledge and thankfully you guys are
doing one of the things that you would
do to learn it better which is being a
Bible study that's one of the reasons we
hesitate yeah but another reason we
hesitate
okay
so there is some sense in which we think
well since I can't change a heart I'm
going to bother right I'm not even going
to do anything to address yeah it's all
going to be what it's going to be I
don't make a difference
uh but the Bible doesn't put it that way
right the Bible makes it clear that
people who sow that is the means god
uses to bring people to himself even if
we think that it's not yeah in the back
oh yes if I share my faith they're not
going to like me not going to love me
they're going to think I'm silly weird
or even worse offensive hateful
narrow-minded
and we don't really want to get that
that scoring heaped on us so here's one
that we all have sometimes we don't
share the faith because we're afraid
we're gonna get asked a question we
don't have an answer to
okay what if I just blow it
what if I just fumble the ball what if
they asked me a question I'm like I
don't know and I'm not very good at
answering it and we think to ourselves
well because I'm not a very good sewer I
just won't do it at all
and you realize that what we basically
decided there is to think about
evangelism on a man-centered way it's
all about
me and my skill set and then if my skill
set wasn't good enough well then God's
kingdom just won't advance
God is going to correct that here he's
going to say even the most quote
ineffective sower the one who maybe
isn't the most eloquent and the most
well trained can still be
amazingly useful here at spreading the
gospel uh and uh and seeing the kingdom
go forth and so we need to get out of
our heads this idea that the reason
people respond to the gospels because of
how eloquent and articulate we are when
we when we speak it and say it right
um I was uh remembering there's so many
stories of this throughout the age of
the Church of people who come to Christ
and are converted not because they came
across someone super eloquent
but just someone who just told them the
truth and shared the gospel with them
faithfully and love them
it wasn't because they were the greatest
evangelism evangelist of all time but
just because they did it at all
okay they just simply did it
um and this is going to be uh this is
something that plays out time and time
again I remember the story of Rosaria
Butterfield you may know may may know
the story story of Rosario Butterfield
Rosario Butterfield used to be
a professor at Syracuse University in
New York and she was as Progressive as
liberal as non-Christian as you can get
she was a she was a lesbian she thought
Christianity was insane
and she was very intellectually gifted
obviously you're a professor at Syracuse
University she's going to have some real
intellectual chops
and how was she converted not because
she met someone of equal intellectual
ability to her right who was like
overwhelmed her in debate
she had a pastor in her local town that
just got to know her and started talking
to her about Jesus got very basic very
ordinary guy who just did it
and just loved her and shared the face
with her and over time it took a while
she finally came to know Christ and
become a Christian now she's out
speaking about Jesus and it's an amazing
conversion story but notice it didn't
happen because the guy who shared it
with her was so eloquent it happened
because he just shared
so here's what I want you to realize is
that there is a sense in which we can't
do our kingdom spreading so to speak
with a man-centered approach where we're
so looking at us right don't forget
God's at work even if you don't feel
like you're the most articulate you can
still
um find ways to spread the gospel
faithfully and God can use it so there's
probably someone in your life right now
that you've not shared the Faith with
family member
parent
co-worker
someone that you play sports with or in
a group with
and we all know the reasons we don't do
it because we think well I'm just not
very good seller now the problem isn't
the seller and the problem isn't the
seed
so we need to Faithfully do what God
asks us to do knowing that he will take
care of the rest all right that leads us
then to the real issue and that's the
soil so let's flip our notes over
here's The Parables payoff the reason
the kingdom advances or doesn't Advance
us as the sower sows the seed is because
of the soil it lands on
now here's here's the first thing I want
you to realize about this can you
control the soil
you me no we can't control the soil of
someone else okay and on one level you
can't even control the soil in your own
heart okay and so I know that might
sound defeating but it's actually
freeing okay your job my job is to take
the wonderful message of the Gospel the
seed and to be a faithful sower even if
we're not the best at it and cast it out
there and and know that God has a plan
for where it's going to land okay he has
a place where it's going to sprout
so what our Parable does here is it
walks through this is the great thing
about this parallel rights Jesus
interprets it for us it walks through
the different kinds of soils that the
seed lands on
and we read these in the story you can
see in that Roman numeral there's four
kinds of soil that the seed lands on
and I want to just say a word about each
of these and here's the thing as we walk
through these the first three
of the soils never produce fruit
the last one the good soil does
so what you have here is Jesus saying
look I know you're wondering why some
believe and some don't why some receive
it some don't Jesus is going to give us
an explanation of that because of the
different soil the different state of
people's hearts when they receive the
message but it's only the good soil that
ends up producing fruit
now here's another thing about this
passage that's a little disconcerting
but
something we should reflect upon there's
some people that might at first look
like Christians
that prove later not to be
and this is some of the soils we'll see
there's some people that start off
it looks like positively but never sort
of make it to the end
and that's a sobering thought
it's only the people who have good soil
in their hearts if you will that end up
producing the fruit
now again since you can't control the
soil you're like well why bother well
because God does
God is going to grow it exactly where he
wants to grow his word okay but we can
be confident he'll do that and we can
just do our part and let God do his part
okay let's walk through the different
soils here and you can see them there's
the soil the path the soil of the rocky
ground soil the thorns and then finally
the good soil and you'll notice I've
given a little parenthetical statement
at each of these what I think it's
referring to
and we'll just walk through these one at
a time let's start with the soil of the
pathway
of course you'll notice in verse 4 as
Jesus talks about the sower as he sowed
some seed fell along the path
now if you've ever done an overseeding
of a lawn or ever planned anything you
know that the worst place for something
to grow is in hard soil okay because the
seed can't get in there which is why you
till the soil right some of you probably
like gardening this is probably
something you already experienced is
that you you till it up you soften it
right so the seed can get in there and
find a place to grow and what is a path
the path is just hard soil and this is
when I remember doing my yard you know
there would be places where you could
see where the kids had run from the
playground to the deck and they had just
worn this path and I could never get
grass to grow in the silly thing right
every town because it was just part just
like a rock because they would run on
the thing I try to plan it there it
wouldn't grow the only way I could get
it to grow is to tear it up and soften
it and then it would grow but Jesus is
saying there are some hearts that are
like that path and we can see he
describes it down in verse 15.
and these are the ones along the path
he's going to tell us who they are where
the word is sown when they hear Satan
immediately comes and takes away the
word that is sown in them in other words
their heart is so hard the seed never
even starts
and Satan comes in the birds are
symbolic here in the parable of Satan
comes in and grabs it and takes it away
by the way this first heart is probably
arguably the most common heart in the
world
is a heart that hears the gospel and it
kind of bounces right off let's just
think of it that way it just stays
purely on the outside right it's like
you drop that seed on the hard ground
it's never gonna you know never gonna go
anywhere I can remember my yard I plant
seed in these places and I can remember
looking out the window and seeing the
birds eating the seed
and I'd run out and chase them off
come back in a few minutes later they'd
be eating the seed again I'm like all
right that's it you know nothing I can
do about that why because the sea never
never gets in there and it's on the
surface and the birds just pluck it and
take it away
so most people who don't know Christ
number one heart here describes them the
word hits them and bounces right off
you know what that means and we'll see
as we go is that the only way that
someone receives the good news of Christ
is if God softens their heart right
um and we'll get there when we get there
now in a room like this I Pray There's
No One With This Heart Right Where The
Gospel keeps hitting you and you just
say yeah no thank you he's bouncing
right off but at the end of this we were
going to ask the question not just about
other people's hearts but the big
takeaway is what about our own
all right second type of soil
the soil with rock on it the rocky
ground here's where you see in verse 5.
other seed fell on Rocky ground where
did not have much soil and immediately
it sprang up since it had no depth so in
other words it's a little better it's a
little soil there it's not completely
hard it has some initial
action if you will and then Jesus
interprets it down in verse 16. and
these are the ones sown on Rocky ground
he describes it the heart here the ones
who when they hear the word immediately
receive a joy
but they have no root they endure for a
while but when tribulation or
persecution arises they fall away
this is what I call you can see it in
the little parenthetical statement there
the fair weathered heart
fair weathered hearts are very common in
the Christian world
this is particularly common with young
people
okay young people maybe high school or
college to hear the gospel and think yes
I want to follow this Jesus and they
start off with a level of excitement
but you know what happens is that life
happens
and when life happens sorrow happens
suffering happens difficulty happens
and what you thought maybe had been true
faith is choked out
by the by the worries and the
difficulties of life
this is why we all know people that we
were in our younger years with it we
thought we're Believers and later we
found out they are not Believers anymore
if they ever were they just walked away
from whatever vestiges of Christianity
there was and so there are people like
that they start off good but they don't
make it and when things get bad they go
for the exits the fair-weathered fans
it's like fair weather it's like sports
teams right you know they always ding
you for a sports team are you only
around when we're doing well
and the sports team does poorly no one
shows up fair weathered fans just go
look at the Panthers games and you'll
see plenty of these right it's like well
I'm all for you when it's going well but
when it's bad I'm not gonna be around
okay because suffering and persecution
is one of the main reasons that people
say I don't think Christianity is for me
because what does Jesus say you're going
to have if you follow him suffering and
persecution
and so there is a sense in which we all
need to ask whether we're fair weathered
fans you know who's the the poster child
of the fair weathered fan I know this
sounds sobering but it really is true is
the person of Judas
he started off as part of the 12. No
Doubt excited for this great New Kingdom
Jesus was going to bring and he thought
it was going to be wonderful
but then what does Jesus start talking
about suffering
persecution
take up your cross
follow me and Judas we know this from a
number of passages is like yeah I
thought I was going to have glory and
you know success and riches and this was
going to be the great Kingdom I don't
know where you're going Jesus I don't
want anything to do with that
so he takes us 30 pieces of silver and
off he goes and you realize some people
are in it
but they're not really in it for Jesus
they're in it for whatever they think
they can get
from Jesus
and by the way people go to church for
this reason
people go to church because not for
Jesus there's no personal relationship
there they're in church because whatever
they get from church maybe it's you know
friends or a social home or maybe
encouragement from time to time but it's
not rooted right in the person of Christ
here's the thing
you're not going to make it through the
tough times
if you're not really committed to the
person of Christ and the second heart is
a fair-weathered heart it's not in it
for Christ it's in it because of the
benefits and when the hard times come
out it goes now remind you something
about Christian Life it reminds you that
that perseverance is the mark of a True
Believer okay A True Believer is marked
by staying with it over time and not
leaving or bailing on the faith
now all of us feel I think the pinch of
that second heart right you can be a
True Believer
and still feel the the the the
difficulty of hard things in your life
making you think I don't know if I want
to keep doing this right you ever had a
day where you wake up like that you're
like I know I'm a Christian I know I
love Jesus but this is hard
okay so if you feel that don't don't
panic that's normal okay the issue isn't
whether you feel it's hard the issue is
do you keep running okay do you keep
going and the second heart gives up
and they turn away to other things
all right let's look at the third one
the distractive heart this is the soil
of the thorns and this one
okay I'm going to just say it
this is the heart I see a lot in
Charlotte North Carolina
soil of the Thorns what is going on here
look at what Jesus says uh in verse 7.
other seed fell among the thorns and the
Thorns grew up and choked it and yielded
it yielded no grain
and then he interprets it for us down in
verse 18. and others are the ones sown
among the Thorns they are those who hear
the word
okay there's some initial hearing but
look what happens in verse 19 but the
cares of the world and the deceitfulness
of riches and the desires of other
things enter in and choke the world word
and it proves unfruitful
ah here is a whole different kind of
heart
one of the hearts is well persecution
suffering no thank you but another heart
is what I call here the distracted heart
it's a heart that's just enamored with
other things that seem
just as beautiful as Jesus or maybe more
beautiful than Jesus to that particular
heart
this particularly is true in affluent
places okay people who are blessed by
God nothing wrong with being a fluent by
the way nothing wrong being blessed by
God but you just need to know the
temptation of your situation right
whatever situation you're in
we can find ourselves drawn into the
attractions of the world that we really
are distracted away from Jesus because
of the wonderful things
that might be available to us look at
this language in verse 19 the
deceitfulness of riches isn't that
interesting phrase
by the way he's not saying that money in
itself is bad
we know this because other passages make
it clear what is being referred to what
the problem here is the Love of Money
is the root of all evil not money
it's often misquoted in another passage
that same thing here and the desires for
the things of the world
so even true believers can be tempted by
that and even true believers struggle
with that but for some people they're so
enamored with the things of the world
that they never really grab a hold of
Jesus and off they go and this is
something we need to also guard against
in our hearts right that we just become
we don't fall in love with Christ we
fall in love with whatever thing we're
enamored with in the world that is so
easy to do
so I think this is uh you know we look
all these hearts are in Charlotte but I
think the third one is one that we
probably need to give particular
reflection of and this this can
challenge us to how we're spending our
time
and how we're doing our things but I
think what this really gets at is your
affections okay
you'll notice that when you start
talking about the heart you're not just
talking about actions not just talking
about what you do or don't do what you
what you and I need to figure out and
spend some self-reflection in is
thinking where is my affection lie right
what do I find that I am delighting in
what excites me
that tells you a lot about the state of
your heart now don't be discouraged if
you're not always excited about Jesus
you know the spiritual life is up and
down right so that's not our Point our
point isn't like you have to be always
on cloud nine but a general trajectory
right a general direction in your life
where you find yourself enamored with
Christ more than the things of the world
all right let's look at the last heart
it's the heart of a True Believer
not a perfect person
not a person always does what they need
to do but someone who does love Jesus
and you'll notice that this is a heart
softened by the spirit look at verse 20.
but those that were sown on the good
soil
are the ones who hear the word and
accept it and notice the next next
phrase and bear fruit
did you catch those three things
this is the True Believer they hear the
word you got to hear the word to to to
to start the whole scenario and notice
they say accept the word
right and so you're receiving it you're
acknowledging it's true you're you're
you're bringing it into your life but
then this third one is key and bear
fruit
what is the mark of a true Christian
that they bear fruit
are you saved because you bear fruit no
you bear fruit because you're saved
okay so you're not bearing the fruit
hoping that God loves me bearing the
fruit hoping I can work my way to heaven
no the fruit is not the cause of
Salvation it's the result of it
so you can think of it this way fruit is
the evidence that someone has a soft
heart
that loves Jesus
now you're thinking to yourself well how
much fruit all right how much fruit is
enough for me to think that you know I
really do know Jesus and love him and
that my heart is soft and has received
the word I'm not one of those other
people that's distracted heart or the
fair weather heart
well what I love about this passage and
this is just so the Brilliance of
Jesus's teaching he doesn't simply bear
fruit but he reminds us that there's
different levels of it look at this next
Clause some 30-fold some 60-fold some
hundredfold
this should be comforting to you every
every True Believer will bear fruit at
some level
but not all bear the same amount of
fruit okay that's just part of the
Christian Life it's part of the way
things go some some folks because of
whatever thing God is at work in their
life bear more fruit some bear less
fruit and it's not a competition by the
way we're like I gotta bear more fruit
than the person at my table or something
like this
that's all up to God to to determine you
know uh or sort of how that all works
our recognition here though is simply a
recognition that all True Believers bear
some fruit okay
and we know this is important why
because there's a lot of people who say
they're believers
say they're Christians but never exhibit
any signs in their life that they're
really following Jesus okay and what
Jesus is saying here in this Parable is
that no if you really do know me and
love me you'll bear fruit some a lot
some maybe not as much but all
Christians bear some fruit
now
here's the key point you can see it
there at the end of Roman numeral 3. the
advance of the kingdom is determined by
the response of individual human hearts
does that mean that God's at the mercy
of individual decisions of people no
because God is the one who softens those
hearts okay God is the one who works in
hearts
so here's the big point when you think
about advancing the kingdom and growing
it we have a role to play the role to
play is to take the good news that of
the king of Aslan that he's come to
claim this world for himself and to sow
it to spread it to share it that's our
part and it's going to land in a lot of
different hearts some hearts are soft
some aren't that's God's job to soften
hearts and receive our job is to be the
ones who sow it
um and who announce it
now of course
when we think of it that way we think of
the passages about other people but it's
also about us right one of the big
takeaways and I mentioned this at the
very end there is
which soil are you
now our prayers were all the last right
they were all hopefully the good soil in
the sense that it's soft and receptive
to God's word but I think it's also fair
to say that even if we're the good cell
we can still recognize acknowledge we
may be tempted by the other parts right
even if they don't fully Define us
we can still acknowledge you know what
I'm kind of a fair-weathered heart we
can sort of acknowledge I'm kind of a
distracted heart even if you're a true
believer that can still be things you
struggle with and so I think this is
part of the the self-diagnosis today is
to say what heart is mine and when you
want to change your heart what do you do
you don't just say heart I want you to
change good luck with that right you
know it doesn't work and by the way you
know Hearts can't be just be changed by
sheer willpower because you've tried to
change other people's hearts
in your life and how'd that go
not good right you have a child that you
feel like you're trying to get to and
you can't get in their hearts you you
have a friend or a parent or co-worker
like why can I not get in there because
you you because you don't have the
ability to that's a spiritual act that
God does so you pray
God changed this person's heart and
maybe the better prayer even God changed
my heart right that I might trust you
even more all right this is going to be
a lot of interesting conversation on
this one in the groups so let's do that
let's transition and talk about how this
passage applies to our life let me pray
for us
Lord there's
a lot here that's convicting
there's also a lot here so encouraging
Lord you grow your kingdom because
you're in control
well we play a role but Lord you are the
one that advances it through the way you
change the human heart Lord help us to
trust that
and also to do the part you've asked us
to do to sow the word Faithfully knowing
the problem isn't the sower the problem
isn't the word
the real thing is the heart and we leave
that in your hands we pray this in
Christ's name amen
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