Matt. 13: 1-23 We are entering into a section of Matthew that rivals the Sermon on the Mount.

It is a place where we again find a concentration of teaching on the Kingdom of God. It is about Kingdom LIFE. We need to pay attention. The first parable is a very familiar one. We have misnamed it the parable of the sower. Its not about the sower as much as it is about the soil. There are some things about this parable, and Jesus explanation of parables, that we can find tough to swallow. We also totally mess up the point of the parable in our practice as American Christians. I want to walk through some of these issues in our look at the text today. One of the key things to the parable of the soil is to remember CONTEXT. There is a reason why the story is placed in a certain place. So, lets review. Matthew 12 is a chapter of conflict. Jesus is catching opposition everywhere he goes. He gets into theological controversy by allowing his disciples to pick grain on the Sabbath. He is accused of being possessed by Beelzebul, the prince of demons. He is harassed to keep showing signs like hes a show monkey or something. At every turn there is opposition. AND ITS FROM THE SO-CALLED PEOPLE OF GOD! An obvious question that could be asked at this point in the story is this: Why in the WORLD is Jesus being harassed? The Parable of the Soil is the explanation. But even in the explanation there is trouble for us. Jesus speaks in parables, so the disciples finally ask, Why do you speak in parables? 1
Parable of the Soil Pastor Dan Thompson Columbia Heights Assembly of God

Jesus answer is a bit disturbing on some levels for us. It is simply this: Not everyone gets to hear the good stuff. The long and short of Jesus method is this: A good teacher will put something out there in a way that you HAVE to pursue the answer. Its not Captain Obvious territory. You have push, dig, explore. This is a sad commentary on our own culture today because we really want our theology spoon fed to us. Which is probably why we dont like Jesus answer very much. The feeling is this: Why would Jesus intentionally set up something so someone could NOT hear the gospel? Thats not fair! Years ago I sat in on a class given by missionary Del Tarr. He had been a missionary in Africa for years and knew tons of African parables. There was one he told that was very much in line with Jesus thinking in the use of parables. In a village there was a chief. He had two sons. The older son, Kofi, was going to be chief one day simply because he was the eldest. Kofi was a loser. He partied. He was lazy. He cared nothing about discipline in his life. Omat was hard working, loyal, loving, and younger. No way this guy gets to lead the tribe unless Kofi dies. But Omat loved a girl in the village. He wanted to marry that girl. The trouble here was that Kofi was still single and he could pick first. Of course, he picked the young girl Omat loved. The father was fed up with Kofi and his foolishness. While Kofi would be chief, he wanted to do something for Omat. He decided to help Omat get the young girl. He waited for the rainy season. One night the rains came and it was fierce. It was a driving rain and the darkness was so great you couldnt see your hand in front of your face. That night the chief acted. 2
Parable of the Soil Pastor Dan Thompson Columbia Heights Assembly of God

In the driving rain he got out of his hut and went to the hut of the young girls family. He stood outside and clapped (because they didnt have doorbells). The father of the house heard the clapping and the call of the chief. Chief! What are you doing out there! Come in here! I would like you to send out your daughter. I will return her soon. The father obediently sent out his daughter. The chief then took the daughter through the driving rain to the hut of Kofi, the older son. He stood outside and clapped. His son finally heard, woke up and shouted, Who is there? Kofi, it is your father. I have this young thing and its ears are filling up with water. Come and get it so it doesnt die. Thinking his father was talking about a cow or goat, he cursed and shouted back, You old fool! Get out of the rain! Leave me alone! I dont care what happens to that young thing! The father then took the girl through the driving rain to Omats hut. He stood outside and clapped. Omat woke up. Who is it? Omat, my son, I have this young thing and its ears are filling up with water. Come and get it so it doesnt die. Omat wasnt happy with the thought of getting out in the rain, but his father had called to him. He got up and groped his way outside. When he reached his father and the young girl, he bumped into the young girl. Finally he realized what was going on and he let out a joyous yell. The next day it was announced that Omat would be marrying the young girl. Kofi was furious, of course. 3
Parable of the Soil Pastor Dan Thompson Columbia Heights Assembly of God

Father! I am the oldest! That is MY right! My son, the father said, I came to you last night with this young thing and offered her to you. You refused. Kofi knew he had no more argument. This is Jesus and the parables. Its not just Jesus. It was the teaching tool of the time. Teachers who wanted students who really got after it spoke in parables. Then, those who didnt care about learning would drift away and the true students would stay. This, of course, assaults our egalitarian mentality where everyone should have a fair shake. Not so with the Kingdom of God. Especially in the house of Israel where they should have KNOWN better. It also demonstrates the power of the Kingdom of God. Jesus is showing that we dont always know who is IN and who is OUT. Those were supposedly IN would hear the parables and think, What is this guy talking about? What does he know? And they would drift away. But those who were OUT, the drunks, the prostitutes, the tax collectors, would HANG AROUND. Then, Jesus would really teach! The parables were effective as a teaching tool. The teacher could separate out the real learners and then get to work. But the parable of the soil is a picture of why Jesus was getting opposition. It was about the soil of the heart of those hearing. Here again, its a bit of a problem. Those who thought they were IN would have thought they were GOOD soil. Jesus lets them know they really are NOT. Its a tough lesson. The parable of the soil is also strange in our American mentality. We think, That farmer sure didnt know much about farming!

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Parable of the Soil Pastor Dan Thompson Columbia Heights Assembly of God

Then, we go out in our evangelism and try to do something different. We try to target good soil. We look for receptive areas and put most of our resources in those areas. What is the problem with that? WE dont know the receptive areas! We truly cant SEE the hearts of people! The point of the parable is NOT how to farm! The point of the parable is about the SOIL. Here is what we also need to notice: THIS ISNT ABOUT SOIL THAT CANT CHANGE! It is about soil and learning that we NEED to change! The disciples had bad soil for a long time. Then, the soil softened up and change occurred. Fruit came. All through Jesus ministry he had times when people heard and didnt understand. There were plenty of times THE DISCIPLES heard and didnt understand. Friends, there are simply times in OUR own lives where we hear and dont understand! That doesnt mean were destined to be bad soil! But the ironic thing in the Jesus day is the bad soil better described the religious insiders of the day and the good soil pointed more to the religious OUTSIDERS of the day. People like prostitutes, drunks, tax collectors, Gentiles... SOIL SAMPLES SOIL PLOWED UP SEED SOWN 5
Parable of the Soil Pastor Dan Thompson Columbia Heights Assembly of God

1.

Soil Samples We need to take soil samples of our own heart, so to speak. We need our hearts examined on a constant basis. Are we TRULY hearing the word of the Kingdom in our lives? The sower goes out and sows seed. The seed is the Word of God. It is the message of the Kingdom. When we hear, do we understand? How are we receiving it? The first soil sample is the hard path. It is the message given and were not paying attention. It doesnt even penetrate and the enemy snatches it away before we even are aware that something just happened. There are times we hear and we just arent ready. Our lives are going a different direction. We can blame the preacher, the band, the bad music, the street preacher yelling at us, or whatever. Its not US. Its THEM! THEY didnt communicate it effectively! But the truth is this: we werent ready to hear. The seed was good. The messenger was doing the best they could. But the hardness of our hearts just causes the seed to hit and bounce off. The enemy prefers this territory. He can snatch away the seed quickly. Hes not even detected. Here again there is the temptation to talk all day long about making the message relevant to people. Yet, at the end of the day, no matter what twist we put on the message the hard truth is this: THERE ARE THOSE WHO ARE NOT GOING TO HEAR. Not on that day. When people arent prepared, the enemy easily snatches it away. Its done. The question on this soil sample is for us as well. Are WE ready to hear the truth?

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Parable of the Soil Pastor Dan Thompson Columbia Heights Assembly of God

Do we come in with hard hearts sometimes? Sometimes we let lifes distractions keep us from hearing some truth of the Kingdom at some point in our lives. Are we READY to hear the message of the Kingdom? In worship? In daily living? There are times WE have the hard path soil. Truth comes to us and bounces right off because weve decided we already know something OR we just dont want to hear it today. The second soil is the rocky ground. This can often be called the quick conversion. In our day when were looking for tangible quick results, we too often play to THIS soil as an American church. Yes, I see that hand. Come up to the front, talk with one of our band members, let them pray with you... We look for the quick decision. Someone comes into an event. Its exciting. The music is good. The communicator is relevant. Its all clicking at some emotional level. AND THE TRUTH IS PROCLAIMED. Dont get me wrong! The TRUTH is still proclaimed! Someone hears. The emotion of the moment is strong. They feel joy. They let the word get in. The soil has some receptivity. But then the normal trouble and tough times roll through. They havent dealt with the rocks. The seed hasnt taken root. The wind blows. They fall away.

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Parable of the Soil Pastor Dan Thompson Columbia Heights Assembly of God

This is soil we need examined in our own lives on a constant basis. We can get so much into the emotion of a moment we forget that tough times wait for us outside the door. We need the rocks in our lives taken care of. Sometimes we dont understand the gospel. Quite honestly, kids will flock a stage not to pray a prayer but to have a band member hold their hand. Lets be real. In 2001 at the General Council in KC the Hillsongs band was leading worship one morning session. In that session, hundreds of youth were there. They had come over from the Fine Arts Festival. They flooded the stage area and as Hillsongs played their great music, these kids danced and waved their hands and sang. As soon as Hillsongs was done, they left the building. They didnt listen to the PASTOR OF HILLSONGS. It wasnt even some boring guy! It was the PASTOR of THAT church! In that moment what I had feared for a couple of years became a reality. Dear God, weve gone to worshiping worship. Listen, there is NOTHING wrong with emotion. But if its ALL emotion, were in trouble. We need the ROOTS to take hold so when the HEAT comes, we stand. Are we taking intentional steps of spiritual formation in our lives to KEEP the message of the Kingdom rooted DEEP? Are we IN the Word? Are we IN prayer? Are we IN fellowship and worship? Are we USING the tools of spiritual discipline to capture the Word in every way? If not, were letting the emotions run the day and there will be days when HEAT will rule and the WORD will fade out. The third soil is thorns. We receive the word, but the cares of this life choke out what comes up. We let the worries of life and the deceitfulness of riches push out the nutrients. Something comes up, but it doesnt bear fruit. There are times we let the stuff of life keep us from FRUIT. Its just the rub of life wearing us down. The routine. The busyness. 8
Parable of the Soil Pastor Dan Thompson Columbia Heights Assembly of God

One of the great strongholds of our culture is busyness. We dont allow for space in our lives. To stop. To think. To often just DO NOTHING. We have to keep productive. We have to keep in motion, even if its just going to do something nonproductive with friends. At least in the non-productivity we feel productive because we are doing it with friends! This soil sample needs examination. Pulling weeds and thorns and tough work, especially when we let it get overgrown. The DAILY routine of taking in the Word. DAILY taking in the presence of God in prayer... SOME OF IT QUITE FRANKLY SEEMS USELESS! But in our insistence on walking a spiritual path we WILL find life. The first year I was in this district I went to the prayer retreat, which was a silent retreat. The director gave his own testimony of walking in prayer. The Lord asked him to give an hour in prayer every day. Every day this man would get up, go to his chair and sit. He would try to read the Bible, but it was lame. He tried to pray, but didnt know what to pray. BUT, he stayed in that chair the whole hour. At the end of a month he gave up. He said, What is the USE? I cant pray! NOTHING is happening! He said the Spirit spoke to his heart in that moment and said, Look at your

life!

It was like a movie screen was pulled down and he had a movie playing of the last month of his life. In it the Spirit showed him how he was becoming a better father and a better husband. He showed the man how things were changing in his work habits and in his worship habits. In doing NOTHING he had done a LOT!

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Parable of the Soil Pastor Dan Thompson Columbia Heights Assembly of God

We think sitting and praying or sitting and reading or going to a worship service is some area of our life that is unproductive. It is the MOST productive. THAT is the power of the Kingdom of God! But we have to learn to DIG IN. Too often were settling for Twinkies when we are offered steak dinners. Were just not going deep enough. We are going to have a HUNGER RETREAT in October. The first weekend in October we invite ANYONE to come with us. The agenda is prayer. We are going to pray through the Book of Acts and just WAIT ON GOD. What would seem a WASTE can become a chance to plow up some rocks. 2. Soil Plowed Up This leads to the second thought quickly. We need to examine the soil, then we need to allow the Spirit to enable us to PLOW UP the soil. This is the beauty of Jesus. He had tough soil in the disciples at first. And even Judas ultimately fell away. But HE KEEPS SOWING INTO THEIR LIVES. And he does that for us! We need to see HIS grace in our lives and we need to get into our hearts and pull weeds. Get rid of some rocks. Plow up the soil so it is ready. The fruitfulness isnt about AMOUNT. Its about FRUIT. There are some in life who produce truly great amounts of fruit. Others produce truly great fruit, but not in the same amounts. The Kingdom is active. THAT is the point. We need to come aside. Watch of the Lord Hunger Retreat 10
Parable of the Soil Pastor Dan Thompson Columbia Heights Assembly of God

Worship services Prayer retreats on our own DAILY reading of the Word Find ways to TAKE IN the Kingdom. Dont wait. We have to shove aside the voices of this world. We need to learn what is VITAL. 3. Seeds Sown This is the other thing I want us to think on as we leave this parable. The sowing isnt about finding good soil. It is about SOWING. We constantly give out the power of the Kingdom. We pray for the sick. We proclaim good news to the captives. The results are not up to us! Our job is to SOW. And we KEEP sowing! Jesus kept sowing into the lives of his disciples. The soil changed. There are those we may deem HARD. KEEP SOWING. The soil can change. YOU changed! The Lord can do it in them, too!

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Parable of the Soil Pastor Dan Thompson Columbia Heights Assembly of God