Triple-Bypass: The Parable of the Soils

Good seed on good ground - Satan can’t steal it - Trials can’t wither it - Cares can’t choke it.

Our Heart

We’re going to take a few minutes today and talk about the Parable of the Soils. But before we do let’s look at some Biblical teaching about the human heart.

Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life. Proverbs 4:23

The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure.
Who can understand it? Jeremiah 17:9

For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. Matthew 15:19

The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks. Luke 6:45

Now let's look at...

The Parable of the Soils: Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23

That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. Such large crowds gathered around him that He got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. Then He told them many things in parables, saying: "A farmer went out to sow his seed. As He was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. He who has ears, let him hear."

"Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: 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. 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. 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 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. 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."

Here's the Problem: We see three examples of bad soil and one example of good soil. Jesus says we should be like the last guy, but He doesn’t tell us how…or does He? I want to be good ground and I think you do too. The good news is, it’s all right here in black and white. But before we can see it we may need Triple-Bypass Heart Surgery.

Here’s the bottom line. We can’t become good soil without learning the lessons of the first three soils. As we look at these lessons we will begin to see a kind of table of contents for many of Jesus’ other teachings.

First of all, it’s important to establish that there is nothing wrong with the seed. The seed is the Word of God. The soil is us, or more specifically our heart. The beautiful thing here is that as we look at the soils we are given a high-definition picture of the kind of experiences we can expect as Christ-followers.

Good seed on good ground.

Stage One-Hard Ground (vs. 19): What is the lesson Jesus wants us to learn from this soil? We need to hunger for understanding. There are 34 references to understanding in Proverbs. We must make understanding, and challenging anything that hinders our understanding, a top priority. We also must not be ignorant of Satan’s devices;his attempts to steal the word. (Col. 1:9, Jn. 10:10, 2 Cor. 2:10-11) So, here’s our first bypass operation…

Goal #1: Good Seed on Good Ground – Satan can’t steal it.

Stage Two-Rocky Ground (vs. 20-21): What is the lesson Jesus wants us to learn from this soil? God is not looking for shallow followers. Spiritual infatuation won’t take us very far. Our roots must go deep. (Ps. 1) We must accept and prepare for the inevitability of affliction and persecution. The question is not "will we experience persecution and trials?" The question is how will we respond to them? (Heb. 10:32-36, Heb. 12:1-4) So, here’s our second bypass operation…

Goal #2: Good seed on good ground-Trials can’t wither it.

Stage Three-Thorny Ground (vs. 22): What is the lesson Jesus wants us to learn from this soil? Here Jesus reveals the very things that, if we give ourselves over to them, will choke the life out of our spiritual walk. We must face the inevitable challenges of worries, riches and selfish desires. We must choose what attitude we intend to have toward these things? (Matt. 6:24, Matt. 6:27-29, 1 Jn. 2:15-17) So, here’s our third bypass operation…

Goal #3: Good seed on good ground- Cares can’t choke it.

Detour: The Battle for Our Heart

What happens when the Word enters our heart? We talked above about the condition of man’s heart. So when the seed of the Word enters our sinful heart, what kinds of things begin to happen?

"For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart." (Heb. 4:12)

When the Word enters our heart it divides, discerns, it judges the thoughts and intents. Question: Is it possible that the entrance of the Word into the ground of our heart creates the very conflicts that must be then be overcome? (Jn. 6:63, Gal. 5:16-17) Yes!

When the Word enters the human heart, sinful as it is, not only does the Word divide, discern and judge thoughts and motives…but because the Word is Spirit, and because the flesh and the Spirit oppose one another, war breaks out!. This is no mild-mannered seed we're talking about(or Sower for that matter.) This seed is dynamite and this Sower is a “trouble-maker.”

Conclusion

Stage Four-Good seed on good ground (vs. 23): What is the lesson Jesus wants us to learn from this soil? This final person hears the word, understands it, resists the devil's attempts to steal it, perseveres through trials and cares, resists selfish desires, bears and brings forth fruit. Yet once we reach the fruit-bearing stage, it's then we discover the most amazing truth of all. It's then that, like Jesus, we become seed-bearers ourselves.

"Those who sow in tears shall reap with joyful shouting. He who goes to and fro weeping, carrying his bag of seed, shall indeed come again with a shout of joy, bringing his sheaves with him." (Ps. 126:5-6)

Here’s the Bottom Line: I believe the effort to apply the lessons learned from the first three soils, by the power of the Spirit, this Triple Bypass Heart Surgery, is what turns bad soil into good soil.

It could be that your heart is clogged by the very things that tripped these first three soils up. And we need a triple bypass. Here’s God’s will for the Believer.

Good seed on good ground - Satan can’t steal it - Trials can’t wither it - Cares can’t choke it.