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“Lesson 04 - Seeing Ourselves as Soil”
Lesson Four
Seeing Ourselves as Soil
Matthew 13:1-23; Mark 4:13-20; Luke 8:11-15
When Jesus paints this picture of our hearts being like soil, it is an accurate picture of the way every one of us finds ourselves. When we think of our hearts being hard, or stony, or weed-infested, or good soil, the important thing for us to consider in this parable is, “What kind of soil am I?”
First of all, there are limitations to comparing the human heart to soil. Soil doesn’t really change that much. But because of the powerful work of the Holy Spirit, the heart can change—it can radically change. I think that’s one of the reasons why Jesus uses this portrayal of the sower. It’s such an accurate depiction of what happens when the seed of the Gospel is sown. Jesus uses this as both a warning as well as an instruction. Our hearts are either going to be the hardened soil, the rocky soil, the weed-infested soil, or our hearts may be good soil. What kind of soil are you?
The Story:
Matthew 13: 4-8
4 and as he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the birds came and devoured them: 5 and others fell upon the rocky places, where they had not much earth: and straightway they sprang up, because they had no deepness of earth: 6 and when the sun was risen, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. 7 And others fell upon the thorns; and the thorns grew up and choked them: 8 and others fell upon the good ground, and yielded fruit, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.
An Explanation
Mark 4:15
15 And these are they by the way side, where the word is sown; and when they have heard, straightway cometh Satan, and taketh away the word which hath been sown in them.
An Explanation
Luke 8:12
12 And those by the way side are they that have heard; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word from their heart, that they may not believe and be saved.
The Hard Path
When Jesus tells this parable, He makes the point that Satan comes in to the hard heart and removes the seed before the seed ever has the opportunity to put down its roots and grow. Sometimes as we’re sharing the Gospel and doing those acts of kindness to minister to people, we will find or sense that they are rejecting us. They’re mad, they’re angry, they hold the message of God with great contempt in their life—they don’t want to hear it. They’ll even tell us so. Sometimes our tendency might be to feel like they’re rejecting us, but the truth is, they’re rejecting our message.
When that happens, it’s very important for us, if we’re going to be faithful to the task of sowing seeds, to do a couple of things. One, we should try to be very sensitive to their response and not treat them in the same way. Their anger and frustration with the message is not the same thing we need to give back to them. Instead, we should follow Jesus’ example and pray for these people. We should remember that Satan is at work in their lives and their hearts are hard, at that moment they may not have begun softening
their hearts to respond to the Gospel. By praying for them, there is no telling how their hearts are going to be moved and what forces God may use to bring change to the soil of their lives.
THE HARD SOIL TODAY
New Research Finds Number Who Claim No Church Has Risen Sharply
New research shows young Americans are dramatically less likely to go to church -- or to participate in any form of organized religion -- than their parents and grandparents.
"It's a huge change," says Harvard University professor Robert Putnam, who conducted the research. Historically, the percentage of Americans who said they had no religious affiliation (pollsters refer to this group as the "nones") has been very small -- hovering between 5 percent and 10 percent. However, Putnam says the percentage of "nones" has now skyrocketed to between 30 percent and 40 percent among younger Americans. Putnam calls this a "stunning development."
He gave reporters a first glimpse of his data at a conference on religion organized by the Pew Forum on Faith in Public Life. The research will be included in a forthcoming book, called "American Grace."
This trend started in the 1990s and continues through today.
It includes people in both Generation X and Y. While these young "nones" may not belong to a church, they are not necessarily atheists. "Many of them are people who would otherwise be in church," Putnam said.
"They have the same attitudes and values as people who are in church, but they grew up in a period in which being religious meant being politically conservative, especially on social issues." Putnam says that in the past two decades, many young people began to view organized religion as a source of "intolerance and rigidity and doctrinaire political views," and therefore stopped going to church.
This movement away from organized religion, says Putnam, may have enormous consequences for American culture and politics for years to come. "That is the future of America," he says.
"Their views and their habits religiously are going to persist and have a huge effect on the future." This data is likely to reinvigorate an already heated debate about whether America is, or will continue to be, a "Christian nation." A recent Newsweek cover article, entitled "The End of Christian America" provoked responses from religious thinkers all over the spectrum.
Putnam, author of the book "Bowling Alone," which tracked the decline in civic and community engagement in America (exemplified by the diminution of bowling leagues), fears the reduction in religiosity could have widespread negative impacts.
However, he says, it's possible that the current spike in young people opting out of organized religion could also prove to be an opportunity for some.
"America historically has been a very inventive and even entrepreneurial place in terms of religion," he says.
"We're all the time inventing new religions and reinventing religions that we have.
It's partly because we have a free market in religion. That is, we don't have a state church." Given that today's young "nones" probably would be in church if they didn't associate religion with far-right political views, he says, new faith groups may evolve to serve them.
In the end, this "stunning" trend is of future young people becoming less religious.
Questions:
- What does the hard soil represent?
- When a friend does not respond positively is he or she rejecting you or the message?
- How do you handle that response?
- What has happened to society today and what type of response is typical?
- How can we overcome those responses?
- How do we create value to being a part of the Lord’s church for the “nones” who simply feel it is not necessary?
THOUGHT QUESTION:
What type of soil were you when you first heard the gospel message? Now that you have obeyed what kind of soil are you? To answer consider how you respond when you hear something different from the minister or elders what is your first response?
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