Text: Mark 4:2-20

What kind of soil are you?

Jesus tells a parable to show the disciples what happens when the word goes out. In verse 3 He begins by setting the stage of a farmer scattering seed. This alludes to us as believers, as children of God called to share the gospel wherever we go. We are the sowers and we are the receivers also. These are the 2 ways this parable relates to each of us. First is the dynamic of what to expect when we share the gospel with others or scatter the seed. I don’t think that anyone we share the gospel with will ever have a response that falls outside these 4 categories and I believe most sadly, will fall into category one.
The parable is to show us what the posture of our hearts should be when we are hearing the word. This is good insight on how to prepare the soil of our hearts to be the best ground possible for God’s seed to be sown in us daily. What kind of ground is your heart? What kind of soil are you? Are you hard and impenetrable like the dirt on the path? Is it a rocky place where the word is received but is never able to take root? Is it a thorny ground where it may even take root and start to grow but the thorns come and choke it out? Or is your heart good soil? Let’s see!

This is a great parable for beginners in biblical study because Jesus gives us the parable and then immediately makes available the explanation so we don’t have to expend to much thought trying to figure out what it means. I personally, really appreciate that. The following verses (4 through 8) give us the different types of ground that the seed will fall on. This is a description of the conditions of the heart or the heart posture we take toward receiving the word.

The first type of ground that the seed was scattered on was the path. A path is generally hard, packed down dirt from being walked on over and over. The seed cannot penetrate it. It just stays on the surface. It never gets in and it never takes root. The firm impenetrable ground of the path makes the seed easy to be pecked up by the birds and taken away. I believe this is the heart of most of the people on earth. That is why it says wide is the road that leads to destruction and broad is the path. Most people will not receive the word. Their hearts are hardened to it and they will ultimately reject it. It will never penetrate and never take root. When we pray for people that we are witnessing to, the most effective way to pray is for God to soften their hearts. Sometimes when we start to pray this way for a particular person, you will often see that person start to fall into trial and calamity. This is evidence that the Lord is hearing your prayer for that person. God is using circumstances to soften their hearts. I don’t want to sound insensitive but I get excited when I am praying for someone and they call me and tell me how all of a sudden things are starting to go really bad for them. I once had a family member that I have been praying for call someone else in the family and complain that their life was becoming more miserable every day and they knew it was because I was praying for them! That’s God moving through our prayers!

In verse 5 & 6 we read about the seed sown in rocky places. There was not much soil there. I have met many people who receive the word and their really on fire but then they disappear never to be heard from again. This is very common in a church experiencing growth through renewal. People get saved and find the joy of the Lord and immediately want to take on the world. They want to start ministries and go out and do a bunch of things for God, but they don’t want to take the time to get grounded in the word and let God’s word take a deep root in their hearts. These people have zeal but are easily brought low. I remember in my early twenties I was such a baby Christian. I never vocalized it but I thought now that I was serving Jesus everything would just be OK. I remember that when trials or persecution would come I would literally pray this to the Lord: “God, I am serving you. I am going to church 5 times a week. I’m tithing. I’m reading my bible every day. Why are you letting this happen to me?” I suffered a lot of disillusionment early in my ministry. It was because I didn’t have a deep root yet. I needed (and still need) to let the Lord work things into me and out of me by trials and testing. Hebrews 12:7 says “Treat hardship as discipline: God is treating you as sons.” This is a very big area of struggle amongst immature believers. I remember hearing a guy say that he quit going to church because when he started actively serving the Lord, life got too hard. He didn’t want to deal with all the trouble. I am not kidding! He really said that. I told him I was amazed at his honesty. I think that the true measure of a believer is not how good they look and how spiritual they are when they are behind a pulpit or playing on the worship team or they are out at a restaurant with a group of people from church, it’s how they persevere when the pressure is on and the bottom falls out and everything is going as bad as can be or when temptation is knocking at their door and there is no one around to see. The best biblical example of this is Job. He lost it all and his answer was “Though he (God) slay me, yet will I hope in him…” NKJ says, ‘Yet will I trust in Him.” Imagine that. He lost his family and all his belongings and he still put all his trust in the Lord. My flesh hates that idea. It seems so unjust. Our concept of justice is twisted. When we can return to a perspective of what our purpose is, which is to glorify God, then and only then will things like this make sense. Verse 17 ends with an important reminder, “When trouble or persecution comes because of the word…” We will be persecuted, not we might be. John 16:33 says, “In this world you will have trouble…” (emphasis added). To mature in the Lord, or to have a heart posture that is not rocky ground is to embrace God’s word and dig in for the long haul, to allow him to work in you His character. Then you will have longevity and you won’t go running at the first sign of trouble.

Thirdly is the seed that fell among the thorns. The seed was planted and began to grow but as it did the thorns choked it and killed it. What are the thorns? Verse 19 gives us three categories of things that will choke the word out of us. First is “the worries of this life.” There is so much for us to worry about. Philippians 4:6 says, “DO not be anxious about anything…” That seems easier said than done. I don’t think the proper way to interpret this is to oversimplify the command to, “Just don’t worry.” I think when we pray and bring our worries to the Lord, by His strength we overcome the anxious spirit trying to take root in our hearts. Next is the deceitfulness of wealth. I hear people often say, “I’m not wealthy, how is that a stronghold in my life?” It’s not just the wealthy who are ensnared by wealth. Those who obsess over getting it or are just preoccupied with materialism are falling prey to the deceitfulness of wealth. Materialism so is prevalent in our society even in the poorer class community (like mine). We watch shows about rich people’s house and the vacations they take and bow to the altar of the deceitfulness of wealth even though we have nothing really to show. Mark 8:36 days, “What good is it for a man to gain the whole world yet forfeit his soul.” Luke 9:25 says “…lose or forfeit his very self.” This world is temporary. We have but a minute here. We need to spend that minute wisely and focus on eternity. The third thing that can choke out the word is simply the desire for other things. This makes the whole Christian walk pretty simple for me. My desire should be for one thing and one thing only, more of Jesus. I pray every day that the Lord would take away any desires that are not of him and put more desire for him in my heart. David said in Psalms 27, “one thing have I desired of the Lord…” God told Abraham in Genesis 15:1 “I am your very great reward.” No matter how you slice it there is one thing that we should have desire for, that is more of Jesus!

Lastly, we read about the seed that fell on good soil. This is our goal. We want our hearts to always be good soil. Verse 20 in our text identifies those who hear the word and accept it. James 1:22 says, “Don’t just hear the word and so deceive yourselves, do what it says.” Be hearers and doers. To have a heart postured toward God, to be good soil is to be someone who loves God and shows it by saturating yourself with the word and then putting it into practice. We are sinners, all have fallen short of the glory of God and we will continue to fall short but our goal should always be to follow the precepts in God’s word to the letter. Then we can receive and walk in the beautiful promise at the end of the parable. Then and only then will we produce a crop – 30, 60 or even 100 times what was sown. Praise God. He is faithful and true and His love endures forever!

How to pray this scripture:

Lord, may my heart be always postured to you. My I cultivate good soil in my life and be someone who accepts your word and does what it says. Plant your seed in me Lord. I want it to take root and grow. I want to produce a harvest for you. I want to hide your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. I will reject the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things. I will be good soil for your word and I will also be a sower for you. Thank you for your strength and your continual provision for me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.