The SOWER, the SEED, and the SOIL
“The Seed in Stony Places”
Matthew 13:1-6 “Later that same day Jesus left the house and sat beside the lake. 2 A large crowd soon gathered around him, so he got into a boat. Then he sat there and taught as the people stood on the shore. 3 He told many stories in the form of parables, such as this one:
‘Listen! A farmer went out to plant some seeds. 4 As he scattered them across his field, some seeds fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate them. 5 Other seeds fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The seeds sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow.6 But the plants soon wilted under the hot sun, and since they didn’t have deep roots, they died.'”
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Recap:
Jesus’s parable of the sower is about a man sowing seed (the gospel), on 4 different types of soil (representing the heart), how each soil (or heart) responds, and the final outcome in each of those lives.
Last time we looked at the seed sown on the hardened wayside heart, and noted how the devil was able to quickly steal the seed away because it was not received–it didn’t penetrate the person’s hard heart.
So that person was not saved.
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Now this time we’re going to look at the seed sown on stony soil, which means the soil is shallow.
As with the seed by the hardened wayside, Jesus explains to his disciples what is meant by the seed on stony places.
13:20-21 “The seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy. 21 But since they don’t have deep roots, they don’t last long. They fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God’s word.”
So the problem with this rocky soil is its lack of depth–the seed cannot put down deep roots.
All looks well at first–Jesus says this person “receives it (the gospel) with joy.”
He says the seed, “immediately sprang up…” In other words, there was immediate evidence of spiritual life.
–Those on the stony ground are thrilled to have their sins forgiven, to experience the peace of God, and to begin a new life.
That is, until they experience unexpected trials, or are persecuted for their new found Christianity.
Jesus says that when this happens, “They don’t last long…they fall away.”
The Greek word for “fall away” here is the word for stumble or to be offended.
It means the offense “causes a person to begin to distrust and desert one whom he ought to trust and obey.”
Like a plant wilts under the hot sun, their faith and trust in the character and goodness of God wilts under the heat of adversity and they fall away.
Sort of like, I didn’t sign up for this–this adversity is not what I expected.
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Jesus says the problem is–the seed had no deep roots.
There was nothing to anchor it in the ground when the storms of life struck!
As Jesus said in His Sermon on the mount,
“But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish…27 When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.”–Matt 7:26-27
The mightiest tree will come crashing down in a storm if it has no deep roots–but if it has deep roots, it can weather almost anything!
One science writer wrote these words, “If the root takes root, then the plant becomes all but indestructible: Tear apart everything above ground—everything—and most plants can still grow rebelliously back from just one intact root.”
Now, this is a physical illustration from nature of the spiritual truth that we all need deep roots to grow down in the soil of our faith in order to weather the storms of life!
Listen to what the Apostle Paul told the Ephesian church:
Eph 3:17 “May your roots go down deep into the soil of God’s marvelous love;”
He told the church at Colossae:
Col 2:7 “Let your roots grow down into him and draw up nourishment from him. See that you go on growing in the Lord, and become strong and vigorous in the truth you were taught.”
This verse tells us why roots are so important for the life of a plant or tree:
It’s the roots that search out and tap into water essential to the plant, and feed nutrients and water into it.
And it’s also the roots that anchor a tree so that it is not uprooted or blown down in a storm.
It’s the roots you cannot see that make possible the beauty and grandeur you DO see above ground!
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So the question then is, I don’t want to be like the seed in stony ground—how do I grow deep spiritual roots?
How can we be sure our faith is putting down deep roots?
You must NURTURE it!
Beautiful plants, flowers, and trees die by neglect, and they live by intentional nurturing.
All plants and trees require the BIG THREE–water, sunlight, and good soil.
LIKEWISE, we must feed our faith by developing 3 helpful, nurturing habits that provide the water, sunshine, and soil it needs to put down deep roots.
So first, WATER IT by:
A. Reading the Bible daily
Listen to the Prophet Isaiah:
Isaiah 55:10-11 “As the rain and snow come down from heaven and stay upon the ground to water the earth, and cause the grain to grow and to produce seed for the farmer and bread for the hungry, 11 so also is my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit.”
Reading God’s word is like holding a water sprinkler over your faith and watering it with life giving sustenance!
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Then secondly, expose your faith to:
B. Daily “Son-shine”
Praying daily is the Son-shine your faith needs to grow!
ILLUS: When a plant is exposed to sunshine, it causes photosynthesis to take place, where the plant converts the light energy into glucose that causes the plant, roots and all, to grow.
Without light, the plant can’t grow!
And we need daily SONSHINE in God’s presence in order to spiritually grow and put down deep roots!
Ps 27:1 “The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear.”
Is 60:19 “The sun shall no longer be your light by day…but the Lord will be to you an everlasting light.”
Rev. 21:23 “The city (New Jerusalem, heaven) had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light!”
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When we come to the Lord in prayer, the light of His wisdom shines on your problems and you see them through His eyes.
The LIGHT of His peace, guidance, and counsel are imparted in the place of prayer.
–Coming to God in prayer each and every day brings our faith the “Son-shine” that it needs to put down deep roots.
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And finally, your spiritual root system needs:
C. The rich soil of regular fellowship with other Christians
Attending church regularly is the soil your faith needs to grow!
There is a belief out there among some that they don’t need to gather with other Christians for a church service.
They can, we are tolde, make it on their own.
But that’s not true!
Fellowship with other believers creates the rich soil that your spiritual life grows in!
The Bible is clear: “Let us not neglect our church meetings, as some people do, but encourage and warn each other, especially now that the day of his coming back again is drawing near.”–Heb 10:25
If you think you can flourish and grow while avoiding church, let me ask you a question–Is the world out there good soil?
Are your spiritual roots growing deeper and stronger amongst unchurched and unsaved people?
Healthy growth requires healthy soil, so if you’re out of church and out of fellowship how can that be a plus for your spiritual root system?
My observation as a pastor of many years is that people who drift away from church also drift away from God!
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So it’s a fact of spiritual life that all of us need the continual nourishment of:
the water of the Word,
The Son-shine of Prayer, and
The rich soil of Fellowship if we’re going to develop deep roots that can weather the storms of life!
LET’S PRAY