What is an example of someone who has rocky soil in their heart? I think of someone believing with a prosperity-gospel mentality. When someone hears about Jesus and loves the idea of Him, but doesn’t accept that He has said, “in this world we will have trouble” (John 16:33), this person will walk away from the Jesusthey said they followed. The question that we could ask is, was their view of Jesus really who Jesus is? Matthew 7:15-23 talks about how we know if someone belongs to Jesus by the “fruit” of their lives. Someone who is in rocky soil and withers does not produce fruit. This can cause us to ask the very valid question, was this person ever actually a believer?
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness!’” (Matthew 7:21-23).
The Pharisees believed that they were following God, but they really were not, God (in the flesh) was right in front of them and they missed Him. This is not to say if you or another believer has wrestled with Him through trials, questioned Him, or even rebelled against Him and returned that you were not genuine in your belief. Salvation is secure.
“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one” (John 10:27-29).
Last time as we read about the message of the gospel – “the seed” – being snatched along the path, this reminds us that if someone is truly a child of God, this person cannot be removed from Him. We have confidence. However, As Matthew 7 above shares, some people say that they have Jesus or even claim to do things in His name, but they are not really His children. This is what I imagine from the rocky soil – “shallow religion” versus genuine relationship.
Honestly, I fear this is a huge issue in the church today. When the church decides that their main goal is to attract as many people as possible with the brightest lights, biggest stages and rarely open a Bible in a sermon message, we should be concerned about the rocky soil mentality. This can lead us to take action and have compassion to share the true gospel of Christ. We must be brave and share the truth that we will pick up our crosses to follow Jesus in a variety of ways, but we can have hope because His Spirit is with us always.
As we share the gospel of Jesus with others, they may appear zealous at first about what we are sharing. This is great! It can be really exciting to walk alongside someone who is hearing the good news of Christ. However, let us always be careful to paint a real picture of what it looks like to truly follow Jesus. He tells us we will have trials, be in spiritual warfare and need His armour, that we will be pressed, persecuted, and abandoned, but the good news is that we have a greater victory awaiting us in heaven. We also have the power of the Holy Spirit to give us strength every day and live life with fullness of joy.
Walking the Parable of the Sower: Among the Thorns
Have you heard the term “The rose among the thorns.” I remember this as I ponder the parable of the sower and how hard it can be to thrive in this world with so many thorns trying to squeeze out every ounce of hope we have in the gospel of Jesus. Everyone is in a real battle of Jesus versus the world. Will people receive the gospel and grow or will they be choked by what the world overshadows? Today we will learn more about the seed among the thorns.
How Jesus Explains This Parable
“Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants” (Matthew 13:7).
A seed that falls among thorns is not in a place for successful growth. It is in a danger zone of potential attack from the thorns. The gospel that is shared with a person who’s “heart soil” is thorny does not end up thriving and growing in Christ. The thorns block the blessing.
“The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful” (Matthew 13:22)
We see the reasons someone’s faith is choked:
– Worries of this life
– The deceitfulness of wealth
This person hears the gospel, but because the worries of the world and deceitfulness of wealth surround them and overtake them, they spiritually suffocate and cannot survive and bear fruit. They may have heard the Word of God, but they never received it with joy and looked to God to breathe life into them. They chose to look to their love for the world rather than to Jesus.
I think about the desire to be in control. We can trace back the first deception to the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Eve wanted to be like God. Trying to be God because of the worries of the world is not a good solution to the need for a Saviour. True freedom comes in surrender to Jesus in the gospel. A person who wants to “be god” and have it all and be in control seems to be doing fine and often looks successful in the world’s eyes. But the worries and the deception of wealth choke them in the end. There is no true new life in Jesus nor is there growth. It is shallow.
Real Life Examples
Jesus is described as the Light of the world. Just like the sun gives life and grows plants, Jesus gives life to us and grows in ourfaith.
“Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life’” (John 8:12).
John emphasises that Jesus called Himself the Light of the world. He teaches that anyone who follows Him will not walk in darkness. The tricky part about thorns is that, at first, a plant might find the shade nice and even helpful or comforting. But shade is still darkness. Suddenly, the plant finds itself covered in the dark without the light, dying. The world appears appealing, but actually is slowly suffocating people spiritually every day. Thorns are all around.
I find it beautiful that John begins his book talking about the victory of Jesus in the light.
“In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:4-5).
When the Light of Jesus has truly come into someone’s heart and this person has been born again, the darkness will not overcome them. The person who is among the thorns might hear the gospel and even agree with it, but they have chosen to gain the world and lose their soul. They reject the light and receive the world.
“For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?” (Mark 8:36).
I had a conversation with a friend of mine recently who trains hospital teams in the newest technology for life support. It just hit me that as I am writing about the spiritually suffocating person, God has aligned my path with a man who is in my community training others to help support lives. They are like the seeds who fell among the thorns. They are hopeless without life support. My friend describes life support as “a machine that helps someone breathe.” This person cannot breathe on their own, they need support to live.
Goodness of God’s word supports this, “The thorns continue to rapidly press against the plant and soon it cannot take in the sunshine, moisture, oxygen and nutrients essential to its survival. Engulfed in the shadow of the thorns, the plant begins to choke as the slow process of suffocation starts.”
Let that soak in for a moment. Thorns continue to put pressure on the plant to where it cannot receive the sunlight. The shadows overcome the plant and the plant is deprived of oxygen. A suffocating plant can be compared to a spiritually suffocating person. The person may not even realise that they are running out of spiritual oxygen until they are completely overcome by the “thorns of life.”
Although I would argue that a believer in Jesus cannot be choked out from God’s family, I would say that we can experience setbacks in our growth when we are tempted by the worries and desires of the world. We need to be intentional in seeking Him.
How People Experience the Breath of Life from God
1. We Are All Physically Alive
God created mankind by breathing into Adam and Eve. Everyone who is alive has experienced the breath of God.
“Then the LORD God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being” (Genesis 2:7) .
“The Spirit of God has made me; the breath of the Almighty gives me life” (Job 33:4).
2. To Those Jesus Gives The Holy Spirit
Jesus also connects the concept of breath with new life after His resurrection and before His ascension. He uses His breath to encourage new life through the Holy Spirit to His disciples. (Note: the Holy Spirit comes in Acts 2 after Jesus’ ascension. There are various views on this verse, so dig deeper in personal study for interpretation). The point I am making here is that Jesus used the concept of breath to symbolise new life with the Holy Spirit, just like He spoke about being born again.
“Again Jesus said, ‘Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.’ And with that he breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit’” (John 20:21-22).
3. In Reading the Bible: The Word of God
We see that the Bible is literally breathed by God. He spoke it into existence and His Word is forever.
“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16)
In other words, we go to God’s Word for spiritual oxygen and growth.
The Gospel Among the Thorns
Thorns overtake plants and prevent them from receiving light and oxygen. They overpower them and stop them from living and growing. The sad part is that thorns in life might appear like good things in our culture: wealth, security, comfort, control, etc. However, these things can overshadow a relationship with God. We must be aware and lovingly warn others of the temptation to seek the world over receiving Jesus.
Lesson was brought to you by: Bro. Robert H Brown
