Kaleo San Diego Church > Sermons > The Soil of Our Hearts

The Soil of Our Hearts

David Fairchild
Jun 22, 2008
Series: Encountering Jesus

TEXT

Luke 8:4-15: "And when a great crowd was gathering and people from town after town came to him, he said in a parable: 5 ‘A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the air devoured it. 6 And some fell on the rock, and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. 7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it. 8 And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded a hundredfold.' As he said these things, he called out, ‘He who has ears to hear, let him hear.' 9 And when his disciples asked him what this parable meant, 10 he said, ‘To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God, but for others they are in parables, so that "seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand." 11 Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. 12 The ones along the path are those who have heard. Then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. 13 And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of testing fall away. 14 And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. 15 As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience.'"

INTRODUCTION

This is a parable that shows us that there is not only a need to sow the seed of the word by the preaching of the gospel, but its primary meaning is a warning to hearers, to take heed how they hear. There must always be good hearing for the reception of the word.

1 Peter 1:23: "since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God;"

James 1:18: "Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures."

John 10:25-27: "Jesus answered them, ‘I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father's name bear witness about me, 26 but you do not believe because you are not part of my flock. 27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.'"

2 Corinthians 2:15-17: "For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, 16 to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things? 17 For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God's word, but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ."

STUDY

Verses 4-5: "And when a great crowd was gathering and people from town after town came to him, he said in a parable: 5 ‘A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the air devoured it.'"

Most hearing this parable would have been familiar with his description of the sower. It was customary for wheat, barley, etc., to be planted (sown) by hand. And these people would have known that it made all the difference in the world how that seed was received. The types of soil would have resonated with His audience.

As someone sowed his seed, some would have fallen along the hardened path and become trampled under foot. This seed would never make it into the soil. It had no chance at all.

Verse 6: "And some fell on the rock, and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture."

It is still common to have soil on top of rocks in this territory. Sometimes the soil would be so thin that it had no depth. When seed is planted on top of it, it springs up quickly but soon has no soil to draw nutrients from and the plant begins to wither and eventually is scorched by the sun.

Verse 7: "And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it."

Every patch of land had only a portion of its soil turned over for planting. The other parts of the field would be filled with weeds thorns. Some seed would fall onto the soil, but it would be planted next to weeds that would choke it out and eventually kill it.

Verse 8: "‘And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded a hundredfold.' As he said these things, he called out, ‘He who has ears to hear, let him hear.'"

Yet there was some that was purposefully cast upon good soil; soil not hardened by human footsteps, nor lacking depth, nor infested with weeds, but completely nutritious and suitable for healthy plants to grow. This seed produced an abundant crop.

Jesus then turns this story into a call for all to hear that have ears to do so. He did so "crying out."

Verse 9: "And when his disciples asked him what this parable meant."

The curiosity of the disciples, combined with little patience, causes them to ask Jesus what He means by this parable.

Verse 10: "he said, ‘To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God, but for others they are in parables, so that "seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand."'"

Jesus uses a word ‘mystery' which is very odd. It is a word used outside of Christianity and was common among paganism. It referred to a secret teaching, something hidden from the masses and known by only a group of people who had been initiated. It is a secret that must be revealed. A person couldn't understand this ‘mystery' without the help of another. It had to be interpreted.

In other words, it is defined by Paul as a person or truth that has to be revealed by God or it would remain unknown. It has both a helpful affect upon those who have good soil, those who are true followers of Christ. And it has a hardening affect on those whose faith is not really in Christ.

This is why Jesus quotes Isaiah when He says, "seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand." The same sun that melts wax is the same sun that hardens clay. Jesus is pressing us this morning to help us see if we're wax or clay. He's showing us the different kinds of soil our hearts have.

Jesus then explains His parable.

Intellectual Christianity- Unresponsive Hearts

Verses 11-12: "Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. 12 The ones along the path are those who have heard. Then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved."

What are the intellectual birds that keep pecking away at us so that the word can't settle in our hearts?

They "hear" the word, but don't really hear it. There are two types of hearing. One is with the ears of our head, it is an intellectual agreement. The other is with the ears of our heart that goes deep into us and affects us entirely.

In every one of us there are thoughts and passions which keep pulling in like a black hole. These meditations of our minds prevent us from pausing long enough to hear God's call. Our minds possess competing thoughts and these thoughts seek to dominate us and claim our hearts. For example, our need for the approval and praise, of everything connected with the world "sex," our pursuit of power, our desire for control, and our hope for comfort.

Our brothers and sisters who've gone before us realized these competing thoughts and desires and mobilized the forces of the gospel to overwhelm and topple them by meditating on Scripture, prayer, and community. Every time they read the Bible it was a battle, every prayer was a strike of the sword, and each time they gathered they intentionally spoke truth to one another. How many of us have settled for far less and at the same time find the gospel small to our every day lives and thoughts?

In our culture, there is still an overwhelming meditation and focused imagination. We've not lost our ability to sustain a thought. But if we're honest, our meditation is confined almost exclusively to one area: the realm of sexuality. This is where every fantasy, every image becomes vivid to our imagination. Is it any wonder this creates a constant pull which eventually consumes the person?

It can also be found in the person who worries. Worry is a kind of meditation as well. We visualize and dream of the worst pictures of what is going to happen to us and allow our minds to be dominated by such cares that rob us of our peace. Jesus is teaching us that the devil is right there in these moments fanning into flame every thought that keeps the gospel truths from sinking deep into our hearts.

Satan loves to use mere intellectual assent as his best weapon. It gives false confidence that because we agree, or because we've assented, we're fine even if there is no evidence in our lives of the seed bearing fruit.

This is a lack of faith and is easily plucked up. They hear, even assent, but don't actually believe it for themselves. They may believe it as a general truth, but it isn't "their" truth. They can agree to it for all, but not for themselves.

Is there anything wrong with plumbing the depths of the gospel? Is there something evil about intellectual pursuit? Of course not! But these people say, "I know I'm a Christian because I have deep thoughts." Their assurance is based on their intellect.

However, if our security is founded upon an inescapable, water-tight, logical argument which has no errors, rather than an inescapable, water-tight person, in whom there is no error, we are forever going to be beaten upon the rocks of the next argument instead of being grounded and planted upon the immovable rock of the person of Jesus. He is the firm foundation, not arguments about Him. The truth of Jesus and the inescapability of Him do not change for one moment whether man agrees or not, believes or not.

If the gospel is true for all, then it has to be true for us. If it isn't true for all, then it can't be true for us either.

How does a religion based solely in the head affect how we hear the word? It will cause us to want to abandon our faith, or will stunt our belief when we don't understand something about the word. We'll feel like we're jumping in and out of trust in Him because He isn't our foundation, our own intellect is. As long as our intellect feels strong, we feel secure, but when our intellect is weakened by something we don't understand or by an opposing argument, we're insecure about our faith.

When our intellect becomes our idol, our functional savior, it will always raise the bar. There will never be a time when you're done and can say, "It is well with my mind." This false savior, this false and changing security, will never allow us rest. It will never bring us peace, and it is ultimately a subtle and dangerous form of self-salvation. It is a prideful view that our mind is superior to others and we put great confidence in our abilities to reason. So much so, that when Jesus contradicts us, we're willing to choose our own understanding rather that trust Him.

It is a pursuit of the promise held out by Satan himself who said in the garden, "You shall not surely die." In other words, "Its okay, you can eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, no harm will come to you. You can trust in your own intellectual abilities. Go ahead, give it a try and trust in yourself."

What happened? Adam and Eve became ashamed of themselves as they, for the first time, trusted not in their Father, but in themselves. They believed the lie rather than their Creator.

Instead of their identity being firmly secure in being a son and daughter of their Father, their identity became self-focused, inward, and they crumbled. They no longer looked outside of themselves in trusting faith, they began to look to themselves and died inside.

There are some that have come to Kaleo to continue in a pattern of intellectual idolatry. Every now and again a big word will be thrown out, some doctrine to think through, some philosophical knot they go away and untie. And, for them, this is satisfactory as long as they are fed intellectual Scooby-snacks. But once they are called to move beyond mere assent and into the life of the community, into the deep and glorious fellowship of the saints, into the open and vulnerable submission of one to another, they become agitated and choose another venue where they remain the center and stay in control of how they'll work out their faith.

Proverbs 18:1 tells us, "Whoever isolates himself, seeks his own desires..." How true this is, to be a law unto ourselves is a form of self worship where only we know and contain all truth. It is a way to seek our own desires because no one is allowed to get close enough to oppose us. Once a preacher or friend attempts to challenge us with God's word, we become uncomfortable and isolate ourselves by withdrawing further or by leaving altogether.

This type of hearing causes a person to pull back from their community because they come to believe no one is as smart as they are and therefore can't really help them. They sit at home, cruising the internet for the latest doctrinal debate, latest prophecy fulfilled, or the latest forum post that validates their intelligence.

You may see this person only able to sit under a particular preacher. They are only fed by this specific person, and no others. And when that person is absent, or when they stop getting what they wanted from that person, they leave and find another to tickle their ears.

I find it interesting when a person like this is actually proven to be wrong or off in their theology they will feel like their coming apart. They'll even stop posting of their normal blogs or forums because they've lost their intellectual righteousness before others.

Warning: 1 Corinthians 16:22: "If anyone has no love for the Lord, let him be accursed..."

NOTICIA alone produces dead hearts and a lack of true and deep adoration of Jesus.

Emotional Christianity- Impulsive Hearts

Verse 13: "And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of testing fall away."

This is a particular kind of hearing that is based almost entirely upon our emotions. At first it seems as if it is better than the first type of hearing. This person receives the word and is excited about it. Upon the rocks is a thin soil that allows the word to spring up quickly. It begins to take root, but is quickly scorched in the heat of the day and withers.

This person may say they were convicted of the message they heard, or felt their heart melt. But one day it's all over. They seem to be lovingly following Christ when all of the sudden they just stop. The heart that seemed to be a glowing coal becomes cold and black. What happened? They based their faith on how they felt in the moment.

This is a kind of manic depressive Christianity. Now I'm not talking about people who are clinically manically depressed. There are some who certainly are held captive by physiological deficiency and are in need of medication. I'm not speaking about them. I'm speaking of the individuals who attempt to believe the gospel, but do so in a way that shares the same characteristics as a manic depressive.

They are emotionally up and down. They rely upon their feelings for their assurance. They may even say, "I know I'm a Christian because I have deep feelings." Some of these individuals have become this way because they are reacting against the first type of intellectual faith. They didn't see any heart affection for Jesus and they swore off trying to figure it out and have moved their trust onto their current state of emotions. These may be people who heard the gospel in a moment of emotional crisis cried out and asked for God to help, and even sensed some peace and relief.

Unfortunately, when we base our faith in the gospel through our emotions, when things go well we all but forget about Christ. Or, like this example Jesus gives, when things go so terrible that we're not feeling the emotional relief we once did, we leave His community, want nothing to do with His word, and abandon our belief because it must not be working. You may even say, "I tried Christianity out, but it didn't work." There is an assumption that the seed of the gospel is sterile. And, to that person, it is because it never took root.

This person may be someone who finds their greatest joy in a particular kind of worship music. If the music isn't to their liking, they'll tune out or get frustrated. If the sermon is message is too logical or too doctrinal, or causes them to become confused, they'll stop listening.

This type of hearing also produces isolation. The isolation is due in large part to an unwillingness to let others see you in such a depressed or despondent state. Because your entire identity and security is founded upon your emotions, to be close to others when your emotions and affections are waning is too much to bear. So, this person in the midst of their struggle pulls back from others and hides. At a time when they most need others to come and speak truth to their hearts, they stop returning calls and stop showing up to their communities, and stop attending the preaching of the word. They no longer want to hear because their feelings seem more powerful than Jesus' gospel.

Do you feel like you're being easily uprooted? Do you feel like you're withering away? What are the emotional experiences you're basing your faith upon? How much of our faith is grounded in changing circumstances and emotional fluctuations? What is the "delight" we're looking for? It says they received it with joy, but what was the joy over? Was it a joy that swelled when they heard their life would be fixed, better, more prosperous, etc.? Was it a delight in the word that promised a new spiritual high?

This kind of Christianity will eventually wear you out. No one can sustain it.

Is your heart condemning you right now? Is it telling you that you must not be a Christian because you've lost your excitement, joy, conviction or passion at this moment?

Warning: 1 John 3:19-20: "By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him; 20 for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything."

ASSENSUS alone produces a faith grounded in belief rather than the content of that belief. It is faith in faith, not faith in Jesus' life and sacrifice for us.

Active Christianity- Preoccupied Hearts

Verse 14: "And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature."

What are the worries, concerns, anxieties, and labor that are choking the seed of the gospel? What pleasure and riches are keeping you distracted from hearing the gospel?

The first group has unresponsive hearts because there is no soil. The gospel is heard only through the ears of the head and never travels beyond the intellect. The second group springs up quickly and enthusiastically, but quickly fades away. The third group seems to last longer because they perish more gradually.

These individuals are willing to hear, willing to believe and respond, but find themselves so troubled by the worries of life, even spiritual worries, or deeds charity, that they are corroded and break down.

These are people who really have no interest in truth, unless it works, or deep emotions, unless they're helpful. They are faithful and do their duty. They are looking for fire insurance. They want God because God secures their family, possessions, cares, etc. They are gripped by a fear of failure and use God to succeed and gain control.

These individuals can certainly be secular, non-religious people who hear that religion will allow them to do some good, and jump in to help but never have a heart transformed. They still worship their possessions and are still mastered by them.

However, this isn't restricted to just non-believers. This parable is for those who seem to have heard the word and get active. The come into the church and find ways in which they can exercise their faith. The more they do, the more they feel secure.

Their assurance is dependent upon the work they perform.

Another type of Christian is one who believes that the gospel is intended to make us wealthy and support our drive for riches and pleasures in this life. Now, there is nothing wrong with work, nothing wrong with riches or pleasure, but when your faith is founded upon what you do or what things you possess, the seed will never mature and will eventually become choked out. It is a hear that is continuously preoccupied with some other activity. It can't rest. It can't be still. It has to move.

This person's faith is dependent upon outside circumstances to keep them secure. When those circumstances change, they fall apart. They lose their job, they lose their money, they lose something that brought them great pleasure and eventually discard their faith because it isn't "blessing" them.

Warning: 1 John 2:15-17: "Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world--the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions--is not from the Father but is from the world. 17 And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever."

FIDUCIA alone produces a person whose entire life is wrapped up in everything around them and their faithfulness to those things.

True Christianity- (Intellect, Emotions, Action)

Verse 15: "As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience."

The good soil is the heart that hears the gospel, clings to it and holds it fast in an honest and good heart. Note it says ‘honest and good heart' and not just honest or good. These are people who bear fruit with patience because their life is not dependent upon the next intellectual argument, or the next emotional thrill, or the next good deed or accomplishment. They can be patient because their assurance is dependent upon Jesus' righteousness, His work, His great love for the Father, His knowledge of God, not our own.

God is after the whole heart, not just a part or piece. He wants it all: our thoughts, our emotions, our deeds to all spring from a good soil.

Defining the Heart

As you begin to study the Word of God to learn and grow, you come to realize that there are plenty of terms in the Bible which our modern English words simply fall short in doing justice to the meaning, or it has morphed into something which has a very different meaning than it did in Scripture.

One of the words that I've come to appreciate in a far deeper way than ever before is the word "heart" in the Bible.

We have a tendency to take the modern definition of the word "heart" and read into the Scripture what we think it means. It's really hard to break the habit, but when we hear the word "heart" we think of it as our emotions vs. our intellect or head. We think the head is the place where we have our reason and will. It's where we think our reasonable decisions come from, and what we should do. Our heart, in our modern view, is the place of our emotions and it leads us to do what we want to do. So there is this conflict in this modern view, that the head and heart often war between reason and feelings. The heart is perceived to be the seat of our emotions and nothing more. Some say, "follow your heart," and they're considered romantics; others say, "think it through," and they're considered the responsible ones.

This modern view is not how the Bible describes the heart. The Bible teaches us about thinking with the heart (Luke 9:47, Proverbs 14:33), feeling with the heart, and acting with the heart because the heart is not simply the seat of the emotions; it's the seat of the mind, will, and emotions. The heart is the control center of our entire life and the foundational core commitments at the center of our being that controls our mind, will, and emotions.

In the book of Proverbs, the word "heart" is mentioned over and over again. It's a struggle for translators to give an equivalent to the word, so they just leave it at "heart." Perhaps the closest we can come to the word in our modern English is the word "motives." The heart is what motivates you.

For instance, some of us are willing to lose power in order for people to like us. We'll exchange power for approval. Yet others of us are different, and we don't mind stepping over people or losing their friendships or approval to gain power. These are two different motivational structures at work.

What motivates you? What are you committed to? What have you set your deepest hopes on? What do you find the most attractive and beautiful? What really gives you meaning when everything around you is falling apart?

You might say, "Jesus gives me meaning," and that's a good answer, but what does your heart really yearn for to gain meaning in your life?

The affections of your heart are the inclinations of the soul. Your affections (your motivations) are not just the seat of your emotions. Why is it that a friend of yours can take insults really well, but you respond with anger and hurt? Well, you've set the affections of your heart on your reputation. What is really important to you is that you look good at all times and never lose face. Your friend just doesn't get bothered by it because his or her affections and meaning aren't set on reputation but something else. That's why your emotions respond the way they do.

All of these responses occur when God's grace found in Jesus is not our ultimate security. Our intellect, emotions and actions are all necessary and designed by God to help us along. They are all fine and good, but they are not Christ himself.

The Gospel Connection

None of these things compel us to die to ourselves, to die to finding our security in them. None of them demands repentance. All we have to do is practice a few exercises by learning a new doctrine, or experiencing another "high," or working for the benefit of others and we'll be fine. They become practices and principles that we use to make ourselves feel better.

This never turns us inside out. None of these things cause us to be wounded. And because we have no wounds created by the true gospel, we don't cry out for our Divine Physician. And since we don't cry out for our Physician, He seems all but absent. And because He isn't there, our relationship to our neighbor, our marriage, our anxiety, our friends are not changed, and neither are we.

There is nothing more beautiful than a transformed family of Christ followers and there is nothing more ugly than a family of Christians who only possess these kinds of superficial ears where the gospel, the word, has not taken root.

What birds, what thorns, what cares am I exposing the Word of God to in my life? What are the competing and threatening forces that I allow God's Word to be sown in?

Jesus is calling us to have soft and turned over soil. He desires soft hearts to plant His word in. He desires that we turn from our busyness and distractions that keep us from hearing. He teaches us not to try and squeeze God into a few tiny cracks of our daily life, but to give ourselves moments throughout the day when we can be still and know that He is God. This has to come through death. A death to self and our various ways we try to secure ourselves through good things that become our Savior.

Jesus calls us to die, but dies in our place

John 12:24-27: "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. 25 Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him. 27 Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? 'Father, save me from this hour'? But for this purpose I have come to this hour."