Sermon Tone Analysis

Last week we began a two-part study of Mark 4:26-29, laying a foundation for evangelism.

Mark 4:26–29 (NASB95):

26 And He was saying, “The kingdom of God is like a man who casts seed upon the soil; 27 and he goes to bed at night and gets up by day, and the seed sprouts and grows—how, he himself does not know.

28 “The soil produces crops by itself; first the blade, then the head, then the mature grain in the head.

29 “But when the crop permits, he immediately puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”

In this little parable we are presented with four elements: the Sower, the Seed, the Soil, and the Harvest.

As we have already seen, every Christian is to be a sower, sharing the Gospel with others.

Some are uniquely called to evangelism as ministry, but most of us are simply to share the Gospel as we have opportunity.

And we have already seen that the Seed is the Gospel of Jesus Christ – who Jesus is, what He did, and how we benefit from His work.

The Gospel is not how to be happy, or live a fulfilling life.

The Gospel is not how the pains of the past can be forgotten, or how to become wealthy.

The Gospel is the good news that, although every human being is born guilty and condemned by sin, there is a Savior.

Let’s continue with the other two elements of Jesus’ parable: the Soil, and the Harvest.

The Soil

Quite clearly, the Soil is a person.

Earlier in Mark Jesus gave a more detailed parable involving a sower and four different kinds of soil.

He then explained what that first parable meant, and tied its meaning to the parables that follow.

Impenetrable

Mark 4:3–4 (NASB95):

3 “Listen to this! Behold, the sower went out to sow; 4 as he was sowing, some seed fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate it up.”

Mark 4:15 (NASB95):

15 “These are the ones who are beside the road where the word is sown; and when they hear, immediately Satan comes and takes away the word which has been sown in them.”

The first kind of person is the one who is so hard and impenetrable that there is zero response to the Gospel – none whatsoever.

They are so hardened to it, Jesus says, that they are like hard-packed earth.

Satan is able to sweep away the truth from them as easily as birds pick up seed.

Impassioned

Mark 4:5–6 (NASB95):

5 “Other seed fell on the rocky ground where it did not have much soil; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of soil.

6 And after the sun had risen, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away.”

Mark 4:16–17 (NASB95):

16 “In a similar way these are the ones on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy; 17 and they have no firm root in themselves, but are only temporary; then, when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately they fall away.”

This second person has a quick, impassioned response to the Gospel, but there is no root, and so there cannot be any fruit.

Painful events burn away the Gospel from their lives.

It’s sad, because they responded to the Gospel with joy, but it’s joy for its own sake, not joy that they found Christ.

No Christianity that treats Jesus as the means to an end is biblical Christianity.

As soon as Christ stops making them feel good, they’re off to find something else.

Insincere

Mark 4:7 (NASB95):

7 “Other seed fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked it, and it yielded no crop.”

Mark 4:18–19 (NASB95):

18 “And others are the ones on whom seed was sown among the thorns; these are the ones who have heard the word, 19 but the worries of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.”

The third person wants to benefit from Jesus, but their faith is insincere.

They don’t lean upon Jesus as their all in all.

They are happy to have Him part of their lives, like the man who said he was good for God on Sunday, and good for nothing the rest of the week.

But their worship of Him is insincere, because they are unwilling to abandon their idols for Christ alone, and so the Gospel remains fruitless in their lives.

Notice that the impenetrable person is completely untouched by the Gospel, and the impassioned person is temporarily touched by the Gospel, but this insincere person might be religious all their life.

There is a plant called darnel, and it looks exactly like wheat, except it produces no grain.

Jesus used darnel, or tares, as an example of how some who claim to be Christians are not; they look like it outwardly, but like the Pharisees, inwardly are full of death.

This is why we must not fail to share Christ with someone who claims to be a Christian, but whose life is merely moral and religious, and lacks true devotion to the Lord.

Could some of these people be true Christians?

Sure.

They could also be false and still in their sins.

Love puts their eternal destiny over their temporary feelings.

I promise you that if you witness to someone you think may be unsaved and is actually saved, they will not be angry in the slightest on the day of judgment.

Implanted

Mark 4:8 (NASB95):

8 “Other seeds fell into the good soil, and as they grew up and increased, they yielded a crop and produced thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.”

Mark 4:20 (NASB95):

20 “And those are the ones on whom seed was sown on the good soil; and they hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.”

But the fourth kind of person is like good soil.

They hear the Gospel, and by the power of the Spirit of God it is planted in their heart and soul and mind.

Their fruit is evident:

· they repent of their sins and dead works;

· the power of Christ gives them hope;

· they know that they are forgiven, cleansed, and at peace with God;

· they are born again, converted, regenerated, so that the old things are gone, and new things have come;

· they love the Lord and His people;

· they look for His return, and long to see others know the joy and peace they have found.

Satan can’t steal the Gospel from these saints because he has no access to their souls.

Pain can’t wither the Gospel because it is deep within them; as Paul says, they may be afflicted, perplexed, persecuted, and struck down, but they are not crushed, filled with despair, forsaken, or destroyed.

Idols can’t compete with Jesus, because they are so clearly dead and powerless, and Jesus is everything to His people.

What is our part in all of this?

It’s an easy question, because it’s the same answer for everyone.

I have a Master’s Degree in Ministry.

Steve Lawson has a doctorate in theology.

My granddaughter, Lucy, is still in first grade.

But the answer is the same.

Our part is to share the Gospel.

That’s it.

It’s the only thing we must do.

It’s the only thing we can do.

No amount of education changes the Gospel.

It was first preached by men who were untaught and uneducated, and doesn’t require advanced knowledge.

We simply proclaim Christ.

All the rest depends upon the work of God: the Father who elected those whom He would save, the Son who died to obtain their salvation, and the Spirit who applies it to their lives.

Many are uncomfortable with the lack of response of people they share Christ with.

They assume that if they told the story right, used the right words, had the right approach, made it sound attractive, really sold it well, that everyone they speak to would believe.

But that’s a lie.

People are not innocent victims of bad things; they are rebels and sinners against the Most Holy God.

Faced with His Word, even when His Word promises forgiveness and reconciliation, sinners will angrily rebel against Him.

Do you remember what Jesus said?

In a sense, evangelism is the litmus test that reveals who belongs to Christ and who doesn’t.

Those who do not belong to Him will never keep His Word.

Those who belong to Him will, in His time, keep His Word.

And when they do, they are ready for the harvest.

The Harvest

I love it when someone hears the Gospel, and they take it in and think about it, and I can see the process of growth.

You know, sometimes people can point to a day and a time when they were made alive in Christ.

With others it’s a slower, more subtle process.

Our assurance doesn’t come from having a diary entry, but from the ongoing faithfulness of Jesus Christ.