Maybe it wasn’t meant to be easy. The things that count don’t always come easy.”
–Elmer Kelton (Barbed Wire)
“And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.”
“And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.”
–Luke 14:27 (NKJV)
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One job I had to help work my way through college was that of landscaping. It was hard work, but it was rewarding in that I gained experience in many ways and learned some lessons. My hometown, Boulder, wasn’t given that name for nothing. When digging a hole to plant a tree, one that was to be ten inches in circumference ends up being twenty or more due to the rocks hidden below the surface. History has also taught us that we shouldn’t plant crops, such as cotton where they were not intended to grow. They did that in many parts of the Hill Country of Texas, for if you know your history, cotton was “king.” The problem is that there is only a thin layer of topsoil in the region, suitable for grass that fed the buffalo and then cattle, but not for cotton. Hence, there is the mass of junipers in the region that drain the water.
Draw your attention now to the second type of soil that Jesus speaks about–the rocky soil.
“Some [seed] fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth. But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away.”
–Matthew 13:5-6 (NKJV)
The heart, which is a key in this parable, has what looked to be quality soil but underneath was nothing but hard bedrock. This person hears the word and receives it with joy. (Matthew 13:20) “Yet!” Yet there is no root (13:21). D.A. Carson says this is the person who “never permits the message about the kingdom to control him: life has too many other commitments…” These are people “who accept the word but who never think it out and never realize its consequences and who therefore collapse when the strain comes.” (William Barclay) These cannot stand during the storms of life as there is no root. When the battle rages they cannot or will not continue to stand as Paul admonishes in Ephesians.
We would refer to these individuals as shallow. They put up a good front, look like things are going all right. They go to the altar and usually are the ones who are hopping around with their spiritual pogo sticks, but underneath there have nothing to sustain them, the soil is not deep enough and there is nothing to which the roots can take hold of and grow. This is the person who flits from one church to another looking for an experience. They are never content with what they have for very long. Ray Stedman says, “Their heart is always on the prowl, restless, searching, groping.” He continues to describe this person as “faddists, enthusiasts for the gospel this week, and next week it is vitamin Z, or whatever.” These are the ones who jump on “spiritual bandwagons” because it is the thing to do.
Ask someone about the church service or the message and you might receive an answer like this, “I really didn’t feel anything today,” or “it really made me feel good.” Yes, we have feelings, but we do not go to church to “feel good.” We go to be fed, to receive from the Lord, to worship His majesty. These individuals if you would ask about their daily Bible study would say that they have devotions, but press the issue of study, and well, they probably don’t feel like doing it.
See, these individuals do all right as long as there is not a storm. We could use the term “seasonal.” But if the weather, spiritual or whatever, is not right they tend to fall away. “They live on the surface, emotional, with no depth in their life, nothing going deep into their heart.” (Stedman) Look at Jesus’ explanation of this soil.
“But he who receives the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no root in himself, but endures onlt for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles.”
–Matthew 13:20-21(NKJV)
“For Demas has forsaken me…” came the words of a grieving Paul (2 Timothy 4:10). Jesus tells us, “he who endures to the end shall be saved.” (Matthew 10 and 24) He also has those wonderful words for us, “well done, good and faithful” for those who endure this world in all of its adversity and obstacles.
Notice, with the first soil it was the devil that came in, but here we see in the second type of soil that it is taken care of by the individual, by the flesh. “The emotional seasons of life make it very difficult for him to hold to the word of God which changes his heart.” (Stedman) With this I ask, what is your faith based on? Emotion or Christ. It is just an feeling, or is there a firm foundation of faith? Faith comes by hearing and that by the word of God and without this faith it is impossible to please God. Here, with this type of soil, Jesus is telling His disciples (and that includes us) to not be a “seasonal” Christian.
———————————-
One job I had to help work my way through college was that of landscaping. It was hard work, but it was rewarding in that I gained experience in many ways and learned some lessons. My hometown, Boulder, wasn’t given that name for nothing. When digging a hole to plant a tree, one that was to be ten inches in circumference ends up being twenty or more due to the rocks hidden below the surface. History has also taught us that we shouldn’t plant crops, such as cotton where they were not intended to grow. They did that in many parts of the Hill Country of Texas, for if you know your history, cotton was “king.” The problem is that there is only a thin layer of topsoil in the region, suitable for grass that fed the buffalo and then cattle, but not for cotton. Hence, there is the mass of junipers in the region that drain the water.
Draw your attention now to the second type of soil that Jesus speaks about–the rocky soil.
“Some [seed] fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth. But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away.”
–Matthew 13:5-6 (NKJV)
The heart, which is a key in this parable, has what looked to be quality soil but underneath was nothing but hard bedrock. This person hears the word and receives it with joy. (Matthew 13:20) “Yet!” Yet there is no root (13:21). D.A. Carson says this is the person who “never permits the message about the kingdom to control him: life has too many other commitments…” These are people “who accept the word but who never think it out and never realize its consequences and who therefore collapse when the strain comes.” (William Barclay) These cannot stand during the storms of life as there is no root. When the battle rages they cannot or will not continue to stand as Paul admonishes in Ephesians.
We would refer to these individuals as shallow. They put up a good front, look like things are going all right. They go to the altar and usually are the ones who are hopping around with their spiritual pogo sticks, but underneath there have nothing to sustain them, the soil is not deep enough and there is nothing to which the roots can take hold of and grow. This is the person who flits from one church to another looking for an experience. They are never content with what they have for very long. Ray Stedman says, “Their heart is always on the prowl, restless, searching, groping.” He continues to describe this person as “faddists, enthusiasts for the gospel this week, and next week it is vitamin Z, or whatever.” These are the ones who jump on “spiritual bandwagons” because it is the thing to do.
Ask someone about the church service or the message and you might receive an answer like this, “I really didn’t feel anything today,” or “it really made me feel good.” Yes, we have feelings, but we do not go to church to “feel good.” We go to be fed, to receive from the Lord, to worship His majesty. These individuals if you would ask about their daily Bible study would say that they have devotions, but press the issue of study, and well, they probably don’t feel like doing it.
See, these individuals do all right as long as there is not a storm. We could use the term “seasonal.” But if the weather, spiritual or whatever, is not right they tend to fall away. “They live on the surface, emotional, with no depth in their life, nothing going deep into their heart.” (Stedman) Look at Jesus’ explanation of this soil.
“But he who receives the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no root in himself, but endures onlt for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles.”
–Matthew 13:20-21(NKJV)
“For Demas has forsaken me…” came the words of a grieving Paul (2 Timothy 4:10). Jesus tells us, “he who endures to the end shall be saved.” (Matthew 10 and 24) He also has those wonderful words for us, “well done, good and faithful” for those who endure this world in all of its adversity and obstacles.
Notice, with the first soil it was the devil that came in, but here we see in the second type of soil that it is taken care of by the individual, by the flesh. “The emotional seasons of life make it very difficult for him to hold to the word of God which changes his heart.” (Stedman) With this I ask, what is your faith based on? Emotion or Christ. It is just an feeling, or is there a firm foundation of faith? Faith comes by hearing and that by the word of God and without this faith it is impossible to please God. Here, with this type of soil, Jesus is telling His disciples (and that includes us) to not be a “seasonal” Christian.