05
Mar '23
Grow Strong in God’s Grace Wk 4
05
Mar '23
Grow Strong in God’s Grace: Learning How to be a Faithful Farmer for God’s Harvest!
Cultivate the Soil: The First Step of the Farmer’s Strategy!
Matthew 13:3-9; 18-23 (NAS95)
I have spent the last three Sundays cultivating the soil for this year’s sermon series, “Grow Strong in God’s Grace: Learning How to be a Faithful Farmer for God’s Harvest!” In the first week, we looked at what it meant that we want to “Grow Strong in God’s Grace” from 2 Timothy 2:1-6. In the second week, we went deeper into the theme verse of 2 Timothy 2:6 to learn why Paul used the imagery of a hard-working farmer for the Christian life. Last week, we examined two of my favorite farming illustrations from the teachings of Jesus – the vineyard of John 15 and the oxen yoke of Matthew 11 – so that we may learn how the farming imagery of God’s Word illustrates the spiritual life of a Christian. I have already introduced you to the strategy of a hard-working farmer – these are the four steps every faithful farmer must take:
1. Cultivate the soil.
2. Sow the good seed.
3. Care for the maturing plant.
4. Reap a harvest.
Today, we are going to dive into the first step of the farmer’s strategy: Cultivate the Soil. To learn how to prepare people’s hearts to receive the good seed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, we must turn to Jesus’ Parable of the Four Soils, which Jesus first taught to a large crowd in Matthew 13:3-9, then later explained to His disciples in Matthew 13:18-23. For our learning purposes today, I have integrated both passages to you upfront, putting the respective verses together – the original parable with the explanation. [For those who are reading this, the original parable is in bold with Jesus’ explanation added parenthetically after its respective verses in regular font.]
And [Jesus] spoke many things to them in parables, saying, “Behold, the sower went out to sow; and as he sowed, some seeds fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate them up. (“When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the one on whom seed was sown beside the road.”) Others fell on the rocky places, where they did not have much soil; and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of soil. But when the sun had risen, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.(“The one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away.”) Others fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them out. (“And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.”) And others fell on the good soil and yielded a crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty. (“And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.”) He who has ears, let him hear.”
This same passage is found in Mark 4, and I wrote about it in my Seize the Moment devotional. I am going to read this to you as an overview to today’s teaching lesson, to help you wrap your mind around the concept of how we are invited to be faithful farmers who know how to cultivate the soil in preparation for the sowing of the good seed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ:
Friendship is a lot like gardening! It requires you to cultivate the soil – to work the ground.
In friendship, just like with gardening and growing plants and flowers, you have to know the person well enough to know the state of their “soil,” and what each person uniquely needs to grow and be healthy, because every person in your life is different.
Mark 4 includes the foundational parable of the four soils, and it concludes with Jesus’ promise of what His Word and Spirit will produce in people when their hearts have been cultivated. Mark 4:20 promises, “And those are the ones on whom seed was sown on the good soil; and they hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.”
In this parable, Jesus described four types of soil into which the Word of God is sown. These soils represent four conditions of people’s lives: When the ground is cracked, due to being dry and hard (15), God’s love is like a spring shower to soften it. When the topsoil is shallow, due to rocks (16-17), God’s compassion is like rich mulch that brings greater depth. When there are thorns and thistles (18-19), God’s grace uproots sin to heal the land.
God is working in every condition, but not every person reacts the same way to God’s Truth. That makes friendship hard! But, just like with gardening, it’s worth it!
Seize the moment and cultivate the ground of the people in your life. We have been invited to work the garden of God’s creation as Image Bearers. Pray and ask God to help you in your friendships.
That overview is going to serve as the outline for today’s message. We are going to look at each of the four soils Jesus taught in His parable. As I teach these four soil types, may the Holy Spirit speak to you personally about your own mind, heart, and soul conditions. Never forget, the Lord wants a harvest of the fruit of the Spirit in and through your life, so this parable applies as much to you as it does to any other person you will ever encounter.
First, from Matthew 13:3-4 & 19, Jesus taught that some people have hard hearts:
And [Jesus] spoke many things to them in parables, saying, “Behold, the sower went out to sow; and as he sowed, some seeds fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate them up. (“When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the one on whom seed was sown beside the road.”)
We know these people; they come in many shapes and sizes. They are both conservative and liberal politically. They are of all colors and nationalities. They are our fathers and our children; they are our neighbors and coworkers. They are fellow students and our teachers or professors. These are the people who do not want to hear, cannot hear, and are unwilling to let the truths of God’s revelation even be considered as relevant in their lives. Some of my dearest loved ones fall into this group. Honestly, sometimes I’m this person depending on the issue or person I’m dealing with…
Let us pray, “Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me, a sinner.”
God has scandalously sowed the seed even onto these people, even onto us, but how do we cultivate the soil with such hard unreceptive ground? We must water the hard ground with prayer and love. Love with your words and deeds; never tire of doing good. Pray and pray some more; it’s never in vain! Through time and perseverance, water changes landscapes. Through time and perseverance, faith moves mountains! Water the hard ground!
Let us pray, “Jesus, I believe, help me with my unbelief.”
Second, from Matthew 13:5-6 & 20-21, Jesus explained that some people make shallow commitments:
Others fell on the rocky places, where they did not have much soil; and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of soil. But when the sun had risen, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. (“The one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away.”)
The reality of American Christianity is that a large percentage of new converts will fall away, not because of their lack of sincerity, but because of our (the local church’s) failure to teach and equip (disciple) them on what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. This is our sin of omission in the Great Commission – we are not teaching newly converted, newly baptized, or even new church members how to observe everything Jesus commanded us (Matthew 28:20)! This is a call for repentance from the church – we must disciple people from the very beginning,teaching them the commandments of Jesus, and how to obey them.
The key is in real-life discipleship, in the opening of our lives to other people, and the passing on of what was first given to us. Paul taught in 2 Timothy 2:2, “The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.” We must walk with one another, especially with new believers. In the same way that we don’t leave newborns unattended to make it on their own, we must provide loving care and provision for those who would otherwise fall away from faith within those first days, weeks, and months of their rebirth! This is the difference between those who are scorched by the sun and those who through the watering of the Word grow deeper roots.
Third, from Matthew 13:7 & 22, Jesus described that some people live busy and distracted lives:
Others fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them out. (“And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.”)
Do you know what keeps most of the people who attend churches throughout our communities from being faithful farmers for the harvest? We are living busy and distracted lives!It is so easy to pack life with so many activities and interests that there is no time left for Jesus Christ and the mission of God!
This is a call to mutual submission as fellow farmers in the harvest field! We need to hold one another accountable because we have allowed life to get overly complicated and busy to the point that we are distracted from the mission of our new life as disciples of Jesus Christ. We have left our fields lay fallow because we are distracted by so many other things, starting with our screens! Within the family of God, we are called to mutual submission – life-on-life, marriage-on-marriage, family-on-family. Accountability during discipleship, in our Sunday School classes, ministry teams, small groups, and friendship circles, are essential to hold us to our new priorities as followers of Jesus, the fear of the Lord is the seeking first of the Kingdom and His righteousness (Matthew 6:33).
There is only one way to deal with weeds in our lives, which will choke out the life of the seed – the weeds must be pulled one by one through confession and repentance! From my limited experience with gardening, I know this takes focus and time bent over in an uncomfortable position. The same diligence of a hard-working farmer is necessary in our spiritual lives if we are to cultivate the soil for God to bear the good fruit of the Spirit in our lives, and to see it grow in the lives of others.
If I desire for your life to reap an abundant harvest, and you desire for my life to reap an abundant harvest, then we owe it to one another to constantly work the ground because underneath the surface (in all our lives, including my own) there are the root systems of thorns and thistles just waiting to come up and choke any abundance from our lives.
Fourth, from Matthew 13:8 & 23, Jesus promised that there are a people who live focused lives as hard-working farmers:
And others fell on the good soil and yielded a crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty. (“And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.”)
Jesus gives us a glimpse of what a disciple looks like – he or she is productive for the harvest! Jesus teaches that when the good seed lands in people who fully commit to the Kingdom of God – to the King and His Kingdom priorities and purposes – they will fulfill the mission of God, which is the purpose of every believer, as Jesus explained in John 15:8, “My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples.”
Jesus desires for you to hear and answer the call of discipleship found in Mark 1:17, “Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” Remember that the harvest Jesus is relating to us is not one of vegetables, but a harvest of the fruit of Spirit in our own lives and relationships. A harvest from within us that would then be shared with others to bring about an even greater harvest of a community of fruit-bearing Christians who demonstrate to the world the love of God in Jesus Christ, which is the church of Jesus Christ in every local community of every nation. This is the focus of every hard-working farmer – the harvest!
Follow the strategy of a faithful farmer and cultivate the soil in preparation for the sowing of the good seed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Word of God will not return void so pray the Word of God over all four soil types in preparation for the sowing of the Word of God. Remember, God cast seed over all four types so pray without ceasing; pray the power and authority available to us through the shed blood of Jesus Christ which has the power to transform any soil type of any person. I conclude today’s sermon with a prayer I wrote based on today’s parable for my Seize the Moment devotional on Matthew 13:
Lord Jesus, we pray that the good seeds of the Word of God will grow in our minds and hearts, a great faith that prevails over all evil and perseveres through dark days. Your Word promises us that no weapon formed against us will prosper! Holy Spirit, activate within each and every person the faith to face this day and every day called today. May Your grace be our sufficiency. In our weakness, may we be strong because You fill our cup to overflowing with Your power and Your presence. Shalom! May Your peace, that is above all human understanding, guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, as You walk with us through the valley of the shadow. May Your perfect love drive out all fear for You are with us, Your rod and Your staff they comfort us. May the joy of Your salvation be our strength as we learn to keep our eyes on You, the author and perfecter of our faith, Jesus Christ, the light of the world. Now and always. In Jesus’ mighty and triumphant name we pray. Amen.
“Preaching is sowing, prayer is watering, but praise is the harvest.”
– C. H. Spurgeon
Keep your focus as hardworking farmers – the harvest! As C. H. Spurgeon preached in 1871, “Preaching is sowing, prayer is watering, but praise is the harvest.” It is my desire to see First Baptist Church of New Castle, Indiana witness a large crop yield of praise to the glory of God! That we will be an epicenter of revival throughout our region and denomination, and into our nation and to the nations. Until all worship, let us continue to be faithful to the Lord of the Harvest and respond to His call upon our lives to be hard-working farmers!
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