[Biblemat] S:> The Parable of the Sower: The Thorny Soil
Ethan R. Longhenry
disciple_of_iesus at hotmail.com
Wed Feb 7 13:25:23 CST 2007
http://www.deusvitae.com/faith/outlines/index.html
The Parable of the Sower: The Thorny Soil
Base text: Matthew 13:3-9, 18-23
I. The Parable
A. Parable: "true-to-life" story expressing spiritual truths
B. An extended metaphor
C. Discussion of sower and seed and soil (Matthew 13:3-9)
1. Sower refers to one preaching
2. Seed is the Word, the Gospel
3. Soils represent different persons hearing the Gospel
D. Interpretation is sure-- Jesus Himself explains it
(Matthew 13:18-23)
E. We saw general truths regarding the parable
1. Expectation that Christians go out and sow the seed
2. Seed sown everywhere-- not prejudging people's
receptiveness
3. We just cast the seed
F. Previously looked at the seed cast on the road (vv. 4, 19)
1. Those who do not believe
2. Do not believe for different reasons
3. May respond in different, mostly negative ways to hearing
the Gospel
4. It should not discourage us
G. Also considered the rocky soil (vv. 5-6, 20-21)
1. Those that start well but are not well-founded in the faith
2. Are caused to stumble
3. Demonstration of need to be "rooted" in the faith
H. Let us now look into the "thorny" soil (vv. 7, 22)
II. The Thorny Soil
A. The soil condition itself is not bad, but there is much
competition for it
B. The soil has many thorns around it (v. 7)
C. The presence of the thorns chokes out the seed; it has
nowhere to go! (v. 7)
D. This is compared to a certain type of believer (v. 23)
1. Often assumed that the believer is in some type of sin;
this is not what the text indicates!
2. This person hears the word, but it proves unfruitful...
3. ...because of all the concerns of the world and the
deceitfulness of riches!
E. Such people very likely have honest hearts, and very well could
be the good soil, if it were not for all of those thorns!
F. Let us consider in more detail the "thorns" that "choke out"
the Word
III. The "Thorns"
A. The concerns of the world
1. We can understand concerns of the world-- we all have them!
2. This is especially true today-- we're all always "busy"!
3. Matthew 6:25-34
4. Note that Jesus expects His disciples to put the Kingdom
first
5. It is not that earthly concerns are not legitimate!
a. 1 Timothy 5:8
b. 2 Thessalonians 3:10
c. 1 Timothy 2:1-4
6. The issue is establishing proper priorities!
7. There is always more to do, there is always more activities
for which one can sign up!
8. Children can always have more extra-curricular activities
9. We have to keep the "seed" and the "thorns" in their proper
places!
B. Deceitfulness of riches
1. How is it that riches deceive?
2. 1 Timothy 6:7-9
3. Riches deceive in that people put their trust in the work of
their own hands and not in God!
4. Luke 12:16-21-- one still must stand before God!
5. Matthew 16:26-- even if one could have everything, is it
worth his soul?
6. The pursuit and acquisition of money has consumed many a
soul, and one cannot have both money and God as masters--
Matthew 6:24
7. The concern about anxiousness is the conclusion of this
point, and the end of the whole matter is to seek God first!
8. We cannot truly find a "security blanket" in an investment
or a pension-- God is the only "security blanket" we can
trust!
IV. Prioritizing
A. The nature of the thorny soil ought to cause us to take heed
to ourselves!
1. Note that while the problem with the "rocky soil" was the
soil not having enough depth, there is no inherent problem
with the "thorny soil" (Matthew 13:5-7)
2. The problem with the "thorny soil" is what is allowed to
grow within it!
3. There is only one difference between the good and the thorny
soil: the thorns choke out the seed in the thorny soil
B. So it can be with us!
1. Many persons come to the faith with many earthly concerns
and burdens that they do not set aside or clear away to
allow the Gospel to grow
2. They never establish the proper priorities, putting God
first and allowing Him to work everything else out!
3. Either everything else comes up and they lose interest in
Christianity, or they rely on what their hands can provide
and forget about God, and fall away
4. On the other hand, there can be many persons who start out
as "good" soil but do not maintain the land well enough and
thorns can come up!
5. The concerns of the world and the deceitfulness of riches
are always present temptations
C. We can guard against this temptation by keeping right
priorities!
D. If God is always first, we can weather everything that may
come!
1. While we will have concerns in our lives, and plenty of
activities, by putting God first, we will put spiritual
activities first and people will hopefully see God
through us
2. Even if we are blessed with earthly gain, we will make sure
to store up treasure in Heaven, as Paul establishes in
1 Timothy 6:7-9
E. Let us establish proper priorities!
V. An Illustration
A. When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when
24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar.
A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some
items in front of him.
When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large
and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf
balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They
agreed that it was.
The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured
them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled
into the open areas between the golf balls.
He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They
agreed it was.
The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into
the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He
asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded
with an unanimous "yes."
The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the
table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively
filling the empty space between the sand.
The students laughed.
"Now," said the professor, as the laughter subsided," I want
you to recognize that this jar represents your life.
The golf balls are the important things-your God, family,
your children, your health, your friends, and your favorite
passions -- things that if everything else was lost and only
they remained, your life would still be full.
The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job,
your house, and your car.
The sand is everything else -- the small stuff.
If you put the sand into the jar first," he continued, "there
is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes
for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small
stuff, you will never have room for the things that are
important to you.
Pay attention to the things that are critical to your
happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical
checkups. Take your partner out to dinner. There will always
be time to clean the house and fix the disposal."
Take care of the golf balls first -- the things that really
matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand."
One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the
coffee represented. The professor smiled. "I'm glad you
asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your
life may seem, there's always room for a couple of cups of
coffee with a friend."
B. Let us learn from this and not allow our lives to be filled
only with sand
VI. Conclusion
A. We have examined the thorny soil
B. We have seen that the soil is decent, but the Gospel cannot
grow because of the concerns of the world and the
deceitfulness of rich
C. We must make sure to have our priorities straight if we do not
want to fall into that trap!
D. Let us put God first and foremost and have every confidence
that all will work out
E. Invitation/songbook
Ethan R. Longhenry/ disciple_of_iesus at hotmail.com
Evangelist, church of Christ in Norwalk, Ohio
(http://www.norwalkchurch.org)
Website: http://www.deusvitae.com
AIM: Deus Vitae / ICQ#: 28317056
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Yahoo! Messenger ID: discipuliiesus
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