Sermon Series: Getting to Know God 

(Parables and Word Pictures from Jesus) 

We've Got the Dirt On You 

Matthew 13:1-9; 18-23 

PSBC October 7, 2001 AM

In a nutshell: This parable teaches that God knows everything there is to know, about us. In other words, He knows our hearts. So of us are hard to God's rule in our lives; others are shallow in our belief and understanding of God's rule; still others have divided loyalties; and some are ready to receive it and grow. The call is to be honest with ourselves and evaluate our hearts-because eternity is at stake.

I. Introduction

A. Dachau Story

In his book, Descending Into Greatness, Bill Hybels, the Senior Pastor of Willow Creek Community Church, tells the story of a World War II soldier who was part of the liberation of the Nazi concentration camp at Dachau, Germany. If you don't know your WWII history, Dachau was one of the death camps where thousands of Jews had been exterminated. The man told this story: "A buddy and I were assigned to a boxcar. Inside were human corpses stacked in neat rows, exactly like firewood. The Germans, ever meticulous, had planned out the rows, alternating the heads and the feet, accommodating the different sizes and shapes of bodies. Our job was like moving furniture. We would pick up each body, and carry it to a designated area.

"I couldn't believe it the first time we came across a person in the pile still alive! But it was true. Incredibly, some of the corpses weren't corpses. They were human beings. We yelled for doctors and they went to work on these survivors right away.

"I spent two hours in that boxcar; two hours that for me included every known negative emotion: rage, shame, pity, and revulsion. They came in waves...all but the rage...it stayed, fueling our work.

"After we had taken the few survivors to a makeshift clinic, we turned our attention to the Nazi SS officers in charge of Dachau. Our captain asked for a volunteer to escort a group of a dozen SS officers to the interrogation center, and a guy named Chuck, raised his hand right away. Chuck claimed to have worked for Al Capone before the war, and not one of us doubted it.

"Well, Chuck grabbed his machine gun and prodded the group of SS prisoners down the trail. They walked ahead of him with their hands locked behind their heads, their elbows sticking out on either side. A few minutes after they disappeared into the trees, we heard the rattling burp of a machine gun and three long bursts of fire.

"Soon Chuck came strolling out, smoke still curling from the tip of his weapon. 'They all tried to run away,' he said with a kind of leer.

"It was that day that I felt called by God to become a pastor. First, there was the horror of the corpses in the boxcar: I could not absorb such a scene. I did not even know that such absolute evil existed! But when I saw it, I knew beyond a doubt that I'd spend my life serving whatever opposed such evil...serving God. Then came the Chuck incident. I had a nauseating fear that the captain might call upon me to escort the next group of SS guards; and even a more dreadful fear that if he did, I might do the same thing that Chuck had done! The beast that was in those guards was also in me. The beast within those guards, the beast within Chuck, the beast was also in me."

B. The Reality of our Hearts

That soldier realized what a lot of us just don't get. He understood what Jeremiah the prophet wrote in…

Jeremiah 17:9 9 The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand? And, the answer to that question, "Who can understand?" is found in the parable we're going to be looking at this morning. If you have your Bibles handy, please turn to Matthew 13. We're going to be looking at the first parable taught in this chapter called the Parable of the Sower. And right at the beginning, let me tell you the main thing revealed about God in this story… God knows everything there is to know about you. The reason God knows everything about you, is because He knows your heart-He knows what is at your very core. He knows what makes you tick. He knows who you are in the most secret times of your life. He sees everything you keep hidden from the rest of the world. And He knows everything you try to avoid and deny about yourself. And as we look at this parable, God is going to describe the heart of every person in this room, today. He is going to lay it open and expose it so you can honestly take a look at it. -If you need to change something, He's going to tell you what you need to change. -If you lack something, He's going to tell you what you lack. -If you don't know something about yourself, He's going to tell you about that as well. What you will hear this morning, friends is the most important information you will ever hear concerning your heart. C. The Parable Matthew 13:3-9 3 Then he told them many things in parables, saying: "A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop-a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. 9 He who has ears, let him hear." Now, after Jesus told this parable, He was questioned by His disciples about the whole issue of parables, and why He used them to teach important truths. That discussion takes place in verses 10 thru 17. Now, I'm not going to go into that this morning except to summarize that discussion this way… Jesus used parables because these stories make the truth more clear to people who are really seeking the truth. But parables make things more obscure, and more confusing, to people who are really not interested in finding the truth.

So, my hope, as your pastor this morning, is that you will enter this study with a hungry mind-looking to devour the truth that God wants to reveal to you, today; rather than a passive mind that really doesn't care about the truth that God wants to teach you. Because if you miss what's being taught today, you may miss your opportunity for eternity with God-it's that serious.

Now, let me identify some of the key elements of the story, for you…

II. Key Elements

A. The Sower

The first key element is the Sower. Who is he? You need to know that this parable is recorded in Mark's gospel, Luke's gospel, besides here in Matthew's gospel. And in all three accounts, the sower-the guy throwing the seed all over the place-is not identified. It evidently is so obvious to Jesus that He doesn't feel the need to identify who is throwing the seed. So, who is it? Well, the Sower is not one single person, or one single source. It is a variety of sources and a variety of persons… -The Sower is any Christian who shares his or her faith with people they know. -The Sower is the Bible as it's read by someone staying at a hotel room or hospital room. -The Sower is the Spirit of God touching the conscience of someone who is concerned about eternity. -The Sower is a Christian movie or TV program. -The Sower is a hospital chaplain visiting a non-believer in a hospital room. -The Sower is a pastor explaining the Word of God from the pulpit.

Basically, the Sower is anyone or anything that shares the truth of …

John 3:16 16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

B. The Seed

Another important element in the story, is the seed. The seed is defined in the first part of verse 19…

Matthew 13:19 19 When anyone hears the message about the kingdom…

STOP RIGHT THERE. The seed is the message about the Kingdom-The Kingdom is the rule God wants to have in a person's life. We call it having Jesus as the forgiver of your sins and the leader of your life. Basically the seed is John 3:16 plus

Romans 10:9 9 That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

The Kingdom of God is when you realize you need your sins forgiven, …then ask Jesus to forgive you sins, …and make a commitment, out of gratitude for your forgiveness, to follow what God says to do.

That means that rather than following… … what you think you should do, …what others say to do, …or what some other authority tells you to do…, you forsake all those options and follow only what God says. If you follow that paradigm, you have entered into the Kingdom of God.

C. The Soils

Finally, you need to understand what the four kinds of soils mean in this story. The soils are the four basic heart responses to God's desire to set up His Kingdom in a person's life. And that's what I want to look at with you for the rest of this morning. Because every person in this room is identified in one of these soil types.

III. 4 Types of Soil

A. Hard Soil

The first type of soil is the "Hard Soil". Look again at verse 4…

Matthew 13:4 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up.

Now look at the explanation in verse 19…

Matthew 13:19 19 When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path.

As the Sower broadcast his seed from one end of the field to the other, some of it fell on the hard-packed ground at the end and sides of the field. It never sunk into the ground, never received the nutrients of the soil, and it never received water to help it germinate. Instead, it dried out and was eaten by the birds.

This is a picture of a person who hears about God's love-who is confronted with the issue if salvation and Lordship and outright refuses it. It's not that this person can 't receive the message about God's Kingdom-it's that he or she WON'T!

Illustration: About four months ago, we printed a brochure about the Christian Motorcyclist Association, here in Southern California. In it we told of our meeting dates and our beliefs. When I went to ask the various businesses in Palm Springs and Yucca Valley who catered to motorcyclists, if they would display the brochure at their businesses, everyone I talked to gladly agreed to display it, except one-the owner of Consignment Cycles at the corner of Dillon Road and Indian Avenue. He took one look at it and told me, "I don't want that kind of 'crap' in my business-no offence." I told him, I didn't take any offense, but he didn't have to worry about me, he had to worry about what he was saying to God. And it's interesting, out of all the businesses and dealerships, he's the only one who has gone out of business since we distributed the brochures.

Now, hold the spiritual mirror up to your face. -Are you telling God you won't have anything to do with His salvation or His Lordship? -Do you just not care about spiritual things? -Do you have answers, all of your own making, for life's biggest question-Where will you spend eternity? If that describes you, then friend, according to the description of the hard soil, you have a very limited time to respond to the invitation to enter God's Kingdom. In a short time, soon after this morning, Satan will snatch it away from you, and it may never be offered again.

B. Rocky Soil

The next soil is called the "Rocky Soil". That's mentioned in verses 5 and 6…

Matthew 13:5-6 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root.

The explanation for this soil is found in verses 20-21…

Matthew 13:20-21 20 The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. 21 But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away.

The person pictured by this soil is a person who hears the Gospel, understands it and desires the benefits of a relationship with God. This person might have had an emotional experience at a church meeting, or raised their hand or walked down an aisle or gone through with baptism because he or she wanted to fit in at church. But the problem is a person who is represented by the rocky soil has a shallow commitment and has never truly followed the person of Jesus-instead, they are satisfied with just following the idea of Jesus.

The proof of who they are shows through when the tough times come- -when faith is required for situations they face; -when persecution and ridicule come from people outside the church; -when pressure comes to conform to what everyone else is doing. -when they are pushed outside their comfort zone and must choose between vision from God or human wisdom.

When these tough times come, they choke every time. Why? Because their spiritual roots are shallow. Their understanding of God isn't deep. God has received little time from their schedules. Their church attendance is sporadic. And there is no gratitude for salvation or a lifestyle that reflects a thankfulness for forgiveness. Their whole Christian experience is shallow, and they never grow to where they produce fruit.

OK, hold up the spiritual mirror to your face. Does the Rocky Soil describe you? If your Christian faith were removed from you life, would anyone be able to tell? Like a friend of mine says, "You can't tell how much gas is in the tank by how loud the horn honks!" Shallow Christianity is not Christianity. You're headed for the same place as the person who is represented by the hard soil unless you begin to allow the roots of your faith to sink deep into the Lordship of Jesus Christ!

C. Thorny Soil

The next soil is mentioned is the thorny soil. That's found in verse 7…

Matthew 13:7 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants.

Look at the description of this soil in verse 22…

Matthew 13:22 22 The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful.

Illustration: Every time we planted corn in one our fields back in Illinois, when I was growing up, we would swing the planter around at one end of the field, and invariably, some seed would spill out into the grassy bank that ran along side the creek. Some of that seed would take root and start to grow, but it never produced an ear of corn. It always was competing for the soil's nutrients with the grass, weeds and other plants along the creek-bank. So, those stray corn seeds never grew very tall. And they always died out before maturity. That's the soil described here-full of weeds!

The thorny soil represents the type of heart that responds to a relationship with God in a positive manner and gives every indication that it is sincere and valid. But, it isn't long before -the desires of the flesh, -or the rewards of riches, -or the pull of family, -or the ego-gratification of a career, -or the seduction of toys …wins out over a relationship with God. Listen to this…If you claim to have a relationship with God, but what He says doesn't take priority in your life, then I would have to doubt that there is a relationship at all.

Folks, unless you're on your deathbed, God isn't selling "fire insurance". He demands a relationship where everything else in your life takes second place to His Lordship.

Go ahead and hold the mirror up to your face. Does "thorny soil" describe you? If it does, you had better rethink your commitment to Christ, and ask, "Is it real and on His terms?" Because if it isn't, then you're fate is the same as the other two soils we've mentioned so far.

D. Good Soil

Finally, there is the good soil. Look at verse 8…

Matthew 13:8 8 Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop-a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.

Now look at the explanation in … Matthew 13:23 23 But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown."

Friends, the good soil has one main characteristic-it produces fruit. And the way it produces fruit is that the people represented by this soil hear the word of God and understand it. Basically that means that when they know what God's Word says, -they don't argue with it; -they don't ignore it; -they don't try to interpret it to fit their needs- …they just accept it and submit to it. And result is that they bear fruit.

But not every person represented by this good soil will bear similar fruit. The parable says that the seed planted in this soil bore varying yields of fruit. Some a hundred times, some sixty times, and some thirty times-that's because we're all wired differently, have different passions, have different gifts and different talents.

Illustration: When I played football at Wheaton College, I played all four years, and I earned a varsity letter three of those four years. During that time, I scored one touchdown. I was playing defensive tackle, and I intercepted a screen pass at the line of scrimmage and ran the ball in for a touchdown. Now, my friend Owen Grogan played half back and he scored a touchdown just about every game, all three years he played on varsity. Does that mean he was necessarily a better football player than I was? No. Because we played different positions, and different things were required of us.

Don't every compare yourself to another Christian. The amount of fruit you bear is according to God's plans, not your abilities. The point is, that if you hold the spiritual mirror up to your face, and see fruit in that reflection, then you're part of the good soil. But if there is no fruit, then according to God's assessment of your heart, you're definitely living in one of the other soils mentioned in this parable.

IV. Conclusion

Now, let me say a word about the spiritual fruit. If that's the proof of having your life imbedded in the good soil, what does bearing fruit look like?

Illustration: The sculptor who carved the massive figures of the four American presidents -- Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt -- on Mt. Rushmore in South Dakota was asked how he produced that amazing work. He replied with the words on the front of your WIGS this morning, "Those figures were there for forty million years. All I had to do was dynamite 400,000 tons of granite to bring them into view."

And friends that's how you know if you're bearing fruit. If there is evidence that Jesus Christ is shaping your life by chipping away those things in your life that don't honor Him, and replacing them with character that does honors Him…then you're bearing fruit! Amen.