“Common Problem”
Matthew 13:3-9
INTRODUCTION: People share common needs
Every one of us needs a place to live, food, drink and shelter. Everyone needs relationships – someone to love and love them back.
Though we are different all the way down to our DNA, there are many things we all have in common
***Today we are going to discuss Jesus’ parable of the seed and the different types of soil
Jesus told the story:
The seed is sown in different types of soil and the results varied based on the qualities of the soil
He says that only one type of soil, the “good soil” was able to receive the seed and bear a crop
Now allow me to explain in simple terms what this story means:
The seed represents the Gospel
The different types of soil represent different types of people
Bearing crop is evidence of salvation in the life of a believer
(In other places it is known as bearing fruit)
Though the three non-bearing soils are all different, they share some similarities that I want to show you
Remember: Only 25% are “good soil” in this parable
That means that 75% of the soil, which represents people, shares a common problem
I. Rejection
a. Everyone of these soils that bear no crop do so because they reject the seed (The Gospel)
b. Type #1 “The Preemptive Rejecter”
i. This is the seed that fell along the path and immediately was snatched up by the birds
ii. Jesus later tells us that these are people who hear the word and don’t understand it, so Satan steals it from them
iii. We all know people like this
1. They come to church, they hear all the church words like “saved”, “Holy Spirit, “Worship”
2. When they leave the church or Bible study, because they are unsure, they allow Satan to steal the seed of the Gospel
iv. From then on you can’t even discuss Jesus around them
v. The subject comes up and they bolt for the exit
vi. They have preemptively rejected the seed before it even had time to fully sink in
c. Type #2 “The ‘Try and See’ Rejecter”
i. This is the seed that fell in rocky soil, springs up for a while, but then dies because it has no root
ii. This is the person who has tasted but never really swallowed the gospel message
1. They came to church, became intrigued by the idea and now they are checking it out
2. Jesus says that these hang around ‘temporarily’ until trouble comes, and then they split
iii. These aren’t saved people who lose their salvation, these are people who were never saved, they just wanted to take Jesus for a ‘test drive’ and when He ‘runs out of gas’ their finished
iv. Question: How many people do you know that started attending church – got all into services and seemed to ‘sprout’ for a time – but then split when trouble or something better came along?
d. Type #3 “The Worldly Rejecter”
i. This is the seed that feel among the thorns and got choked out
ii. Jesus said this is the person who is too caught up in the worries of this world to bear a crop
iii. Illustration: “The Rich Young Ruler” A rich man once ran to Jesus and asked him what he must do to receive eternal life. Jesus told him to sell his belongings and come and be His disciple. The Bible says the man went away sad because he had great wealth. This is a Biblical example of a worldly rejecter who cared too much about things that will pass away and not enough about things that will last forever
1. The sad thing is the church is FULL of worldly rejecters who don’t know it
2. They have given Jesus their lip service but not their life service
3. And it shows because they are bearing no fruit
iv. Did not Jesus say that many will come on that day and say, “Lord, Lord, and He will say, Depart from me you who practice lawlessness”
1. ‘Practicing lawlessness’ means these people were still living in the lusts of this world
2. They were worldly rejecters and didn’t even know it
3. What scares me is how many will be surprised on judgment day when Jesus separates those who were believers and those who were rejecters
All three soils, though differently, all were rejecters of the Gospel
And I am sure they all felt like they had a good:
II. Reason
a. Excuse #1 “Didn’t Understand”
i. The seed on the pathway that got stolen by the birds can easily feel like they can claim ‘ignorance’
ii. “I just didn’t understand”
iii. Ignorance does not negate the law
iv. Whether I understand it or not, if I go and shoot someone I am going to jail regardless
v. That’s because the law knows my conscience tells me its not right to do those things
vi. And your conscience also tells you its wrong to sin against God – and because you know that no one can claim ignorance as an excuse
b. Excuse #2 “Facing trials”
i. The seed in rocky ground can’t take the heat of the sun
ii. Many who ‘try and see’ Jesus can’t take the trials associated with following Him
iii. They are under this disillusion that following Christ is a picnic
iv. But Christ said following Him is a hard thing to do
v. The Bible says we will face trials, life won’t be all fun and games, but in the end our trials will make us better people
vi. If trials cause one to lose faith, it is because the seed of the Gospel never took true root in their heart
c. Excuse #3 “Choked Out”
i. The seed among the thorns is a person who says this life is just too good to miss
ii. Becoming a Christian means I miss the best parties, the best conversations, the best everything
iii. “I gotta have the here and now” and I will be concerned with the hereafter later on
When judgment comes there won’t be any reason in the world to explain rejecting Jesus
Finally, not only did each soil reject for various reasons, they all ended up with the same:
III. Result
a. Question: What is the one thing all the soils had in common?
i. A seed eaten by a bird – dies
ii. A seed, sprouted and withered by the sun – dies
iii. A seed choked out by weeds – dies
b. See, they shared in rejection, all thinking they had good reasons and winded up with the same result: death
c. Death (which is eternal separation from God in a place called Hell) is the result of rejecting Christ no matter what the reason
CONCLUSION: I wonder what kinds of soil we have represented here today
Jesus said that the good soil brought a good crop – do you see a crop of good in your life since having met Jesus?
Or maybe you’re a pathway hearer who has allowed Satan to blind you to the truth of Christ – all of this seems like just talk to you, but your conscience is telling you I just might be right about Jesus
Some of you are rocky ground hearers who are just trying Jesus out, and as soon as something else better comes along or you face a trial, we won’t see you anymore
And then again some are you are here physically, but your mind is caught up in the world
Question: What kind of soil are you? Are you bearing fruit for Jesus? Or are you sitting quietly in rejection?
Only you know
(Let us pray)
