Ij

"Becoming Fruitful Soil " Matthew 13

by Clancy Nixon

July 13, 2008

Church of the Holy Spirit

Ashburn, Virginia

www.HolySpiritAnglican.org

Do you have a role model? Is there a person in your life who lives out what you

want to become? Who is the most admirable person in your life? Most of us admire

different people in different areas of life. So the same person may want to play

basketball like Gilbert Arenas, invest like Warren Buffet, and decorate like Martha

Stewart. I'm not talking about superstars here when I ask these questions about a role

model in your life. I'm asking you if you know someone personally who is the kind of

person you want to become. Close your eyes for a moment and think, until you settle on

a possible role model for your life, someone you know. Do you have a person in mind?

Good. Now I'd like to ask you to ask yourself one more question: how do you think did

that person - the person you admire - acquire the habits of the heart that lead you to

admire him or her? Think about that for a moment. Now I'd like to hear from you.

Without naming the person, would someone share in one sentence with all of us how

your role model became that kind of person you admire?

Jesus tells us a parable that I believe speaks to this subject. Please turn up

Matthew 13 in your blue pew Bibles page 968. While this passage is traditionally

called the parable of the sower, it tells us far more about the soil than about the sower.

For you and I are the soil in the parable, and it is the condition of our understanding our

hearts and minds that determine our receptivity to the seed. Look at chapter 13, verse

19. Jesus tells us that the seed is the message about the Kingdom of God. Remember, the

Kingdom of God is the rule and reign of God in our hearts and lives, and it breaks in to

this realm whenever you and I choose to set our hearts and minds on doing God's will.

When we do that, Kingdom growth, Kingdom multiplication happens as naturally as

plants growing in good soil. Look at verse 8 - if the seed falls on good soil by good soil

He means soil that is not hard and trampled, not shallow and rocky, and not choked with

thorns then Jesus says the crop is how large? - a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was

sown. So if you sow one seed, and it multiplies a hundred fold, that one seed grows into a

plant which produces a hundred other seeds.

The problem that we believers have is that we don't often see the multiplied fruit

that Jesus speaks of. You and I know we are hearing the word; we think we understand

it. And while we do learn, we do grow, still many of us don't see the fruit that Jesus

promised. We can see spiritual fruit in our role models, but it is harder to see it in

ourselves. If we don't see the fruit, where is the disconnect? It could be that we don't

really understand the word, the message about the Kingdom - we only think we do. That

is one way to understand all three kinds of unfruitful soil it's a problem of

understanding. There is a difference between comprehension and understanding. We can

comprehend a concept we can spit it back, we can write it on a test if need be - but it

often happens that we don't really "get it," because we don't act like we get it! True

understanding encompasses your heart, your mind and your will. That means that

cognitively, emotionally, and behaviorally, you get it.

The hard soil - The first type of soil described in this parable is `the path.' Footpaths were

packed down hard because of all the people walking on them. The seed being sown did not

penetrate the soil, and so the seeds remained on top of the ground as easy picking for hungry birds.

Jesus is referring to people whose hearts are so hard that the truth of His word does not penetrate

their lives. They are ignorant of the message of the gospel they aren't evil, they just don't know

any better. Many people have never seen a healthy, functioning Christian community. I grew up

with a family that never went to church. My sisters have never experienced a community of people

who love one another, care for one another, and bear one another's burdens the way Jesus talks

about. They have seen what God and Church have done for me, but they have not experienced a

community of love for themselves. They have never explored either Church or God very deeply.

The next kind of soil Jesus speaks of is the rocky soil. Palestinian soil is most often a thin

layer overtop bedrock. Here, the seed germinates, but because the soil is shallow, and the roots are

inadequate to hold moisture, the sun comes and scorches the plant. Everything depends on the

roots. If the roots are shallow, the plant will be scorched and die. We need to put down roots so we

can stand up against the storms of life, like Hurricane Katrina, or stock market meltdown.

When I attended St. John's in Georgetown, I invited an acquaintance from law

school named Julie to visit church one Sunday. I knew she was going through hard times, so

I thought her soil might be receptive to the gospel of salvation. To my surprise, on her first

visit, she announced to the small gathering at Eucharist that she intended to join St. John's

and become very involved there. However, she never came back. It was like she saw a

glimpse of what she needed and what she had to do to help herself, which she expressed

verbally, but she could not bring herself to actually deal with her problems. I have since

learned not to trust these instantaneous professions until they produce fruit in keeping with

repentance. Jesus says these people fall away. That is an apt image: they allow themselves

to fall, and it is a falling away from the source of light and life. They let go too soon. They

swoon for the gospel, but then they awaken to their old realities, and go back to their old life.

The gospel never took root in their behavior. These people often have lives littered with

things begun but never finished. After the initial excitement wears off, we engage our wills

to set deep roots in things like prayer, small group bible study, and spiritual direction. These

are practices that will produce fruit.

I used to live in Northern California, where I loved to visit Redwood forests. You might

think these 1,000 ft. giants must have pretty deep roots to grow that high and not topple over. I've

seen these trees as they lay on their sides in the forest. The roots do not grow deep at all, but grow

out horizontal to the ground. The roots are strong because they are intertwined. The roots support

each other. Strength comes from supports, not only from individual depth. Think of roots as

relationships in the church and with God. You and I can only stand tall and strong against the

Hurricane Katrinas of our lives if we are intertwined with other believers. With the help of the

body, you can become a spiritual giant.

A lack of deep relationships in the body is a prime cause of shallow roots. How do you get

deep roots? A great way is by setting up mentoring relationships, or prayer partners, or

accountability partners.

My son Sam shared at Reach Workcamp that the 2 people that had the greatest influence on

him spiritually were Tony Lutyk and Amir Bayati. You might think I was disappointed to hear that

he didn't name me, but I'm really happy that he chose 2 men who are good role models and whom I

have mentored directly or indirectly.

The last danger that the seed of the gospel faces on its way to becoming fruit is the

thorns. Here the soil is loose and deep, but there are weeds in the garden. The soil may look

healthy, but there are root balls of crabgrass, dandelions, and other weeds lurking in the soil.

Jesus says these represent the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth. Now this hurts,

because this is where we northern Virginians often struggle. This is the kind of person who

loves the gospel message, who wants to obey it, but is too distracted by so many other things.

Who has time to pray?, these people say. With two jobs, kids to raise, soccer games, yard work,

and time just to recover from all the stress of life, small group Bible study seems out of the

question. We have too many responsibilities after we're done responding to e-mail, voice mail,

and snail mail at the office, we check the e-mail, voice mail and snail mail at home. Now we

manage our own retirement portfolios. It's not that these things are bad. It's precisely because

they are good things that it is so tempting to fill your life with them. The urgent crowds out the

important.

Jesus asks, Where is the fruit? Where is the Kingdom of God breaking through in your life? The

example here is of one who shows no kingdom fruit at all in their life because of other concerns. For many

of us, the issue is not no fruit, but stunted fruit, or few fruit. Worries and other concerns will crowd out the

really big harvest that God intends, for 30, 60, or 100-fold what was sown.

I'd like you to take a minute or two in silence to ask yourself, what barriers do you see in your own

life to the fruit that Jesus intends for you?

Then ask yourself, what would it take to address them? Write that down on your sermon notes

today.