Pastor Tim Patoka
Under the Sun #9: The Sun Scorches New Plants August 9, 2020 The Sun Scorches New Plants Mark 4:1-20 1) Hardships Threaten Faith 2) Hardships Strengthen Faith
One thing that I do not have is a green thumb. Despite the best of intentions, I have a tendency to overlook the plants we have in and have a tendency to forget watering them or limiting their time in natural sunlight so that they don’t scorched. For a while, I decided to get Katie her favorite flowers in the live version. This way she would always have her favorite flower in bloom to greet her at home. But no matter how many times I did this, the same thing would happen – my lack of a green thumb would show itself yet again despite the years of practice I had growing up in my mother’s garden where I seeded, watered, fertilized, and pruned many of her plants. In fact, the only living plants we have around our house is what the previous owners set up with our automated irrigation system. I could learn a thing or two when it comes to plants. And at first glance, our verses for this morning seem to do just that. We learn that if you were a farmer in 1st century Israel and sowing your seeds by reaching into your hip pocket and throwing them out around you, you better aim for the good soil. Because if that seed lands along the path, on rocky ground, or among the thorns, you aren’t going to have anything to harvest. But this earthly story with a heavenly meaning is not about farming practices or how to get a green thumb. Rather, Jesus uses this story to teach us about the hardships that come along with faith in God’s Word. Such hardships can threaten our faith and dry it up like when the sun scorches a new plant. But if we continue to hold to this faith despite such hardships, it is then we see how these same hardships can in fact strengthen our faith so that we may produce a harvest that is 30, 60, or even 100 times more than what was originally sown. 1) Hardships Threaten Faith One of the nice things about the Parable of the Sower and the Seed is that we have Jesus himself explain it. We have the sower spreading his seed, which is the Word of God, to those all around. And what happens with that seed depends on where it lands. The first place it lands is along the hard-packed path where people walked and birds frequented. This seed was quickly eaten up by the birds before it even had a chance to set down roots. As Jesus later explains who these people are, “These are the ones along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear 1
Pastor Tim Patoka
Under the Sun #9: The Sun Scorches New Plants August 9, 2020 it, Satan comes and immediately takes away the word that was sown in them.” (Mark 4:15) Before a person even has a chance to consider what God’s Word says, Satan comes into the picture so that they dismiss it or ignore it right away. We see this happen with people’s indifference to or rejection of the Christian message for whatever reason it may be so that the Word is in one ear and just as quick out the other. The second place where the seed lands is on the rocky ground. This time it puts down roots and begins to sprout. But once the hot sun rises and shines upon the new plant, it get scorched because it doesn’t have a strong enough root system to keep it alive. As Jesus later explains who these people are, “Some are like the ones sown on rocky ground: as soon as they hear the word, they immediately welcome it with joy. Yet since they have no root in themselves, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they immediately fall away.” (Mark 4:16-17) Even though these people truly have saving faith and rejoice in it for a bit, they are quick to lose it all once the rubber hits the road and it becomes clear that sufferings hit Christians just as hard, if not harder, than any other person out there. The third place where the seed lands is among the thorns. This seed does better, but it is unable to produce a harvest of any kind because of the encroaching thorns that steal its nutrients away. As Jesus later explains who these people are, “Still others are sown among the thorns. These are the ones who hear the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth and desires for other things enter in and choke the word, so it becomes unfruitful.” (Mark 4:18-19) When people allow the worries and desires of this world compete or win out their time with God, this is exactly what happens. While they may still have faith, it fails to produce anything. In fact, their faith may even be on the decline. I give thanks to God that, as far as I know, none of us here this morning are case studies of those three bad kinds of soil. After all, we chose to come here to learn about our God and to encourage one another in the faith! And that shows a certain maturity of faith. But that doesn’t mean we are free from these same hardships that threaten a seed’s survival in less than ideal soil. In fact, these same hardships threaten the faith we now have. Like that seed that fell along the path, we are often tempted to dismiss and ignore God’s Word as quickly as the stubborn unbeliever. We come across familiar Bible accounts and think, “I’ve heard this before and know what’s going on. I can tune out and be okay” so that God’s Word is in one ear and just as quick out the other. We face 2
Pastor Tim Patoka
Under the Sun #9: The Sun Scorches New Plants August 9, 2020 hardships that not only afflict our bodies, but also our hearts with doubts and questions about God. What consequences have you had to endure because of the coronavirus whether it’s physically, or emotionally, or spiritually? How have those tested your faith in God and his Word? How often do you need to reorganize your priorities and life’s joys so that you remain focused on God instead of the worries and desires of this world? How often has going to church been something to check off your to do list like we might when going to the grocery store or seeing our doctor? These hardships threaten us as much as they do any seed’s survival. And if we fall victim to them, we will end up no different than the unbelievers in Jesus’ crowd who could not make sense of his parables – although seeing, not perceiving; although hearing, not understanding. (paraphrase of Mark 4:17) God’s Word will no longer make sense to us or be important to us because it no longer has a place in our heart. We become no more than new plants that have been scorched by the sun’s blazing heat because we don’t have ourselves grounded in God’s Word. But to be sown with the seed of God’s Word means more than to endlessly endure threatening hardships. It also means to have a faith in the one who went through and vanquished many of the same hardships that we ourselves face. We see Jesus square off against Satan’s dismissive attacks when so many people outright denied him to be the Promised Messiah because he didn’t live as they expected, do what they wanted, or whet their appetites for food and miracles. Jesus’ life is full of unjust sufferings and persecutions that he had to endure. He stuck out like a sore thumb from the people around him because he put God’s Word first instead of his wants for the things of this world. He did all of that so that we could eventually go to a cross, pay sin’s price, and confirm its payment with the empty grave three days later. It is we who are sown with faith in the Word of God who also receive God’s wondrous blessings despite those threatening hardships. God’s Word should never be dismissed or ignored. It doesn’t simply help us for only a moment, it gives us lasting peace that we cannot capture, comprehend, or fully appreciate in a single sitting or Bible study. In the midst of our troubles and persecutions, we have joy, truth, and certainty in who our Savior is, what he has done for us, and what he gives to us through this same word. As we enjoy the luxuries of our socially distanced lives, God’s Word still reigns supreme. Unlike wealth, possessions, medicine, fame, or anything else this world can offer, God’s Word will never fail us, offer us false promises, or stick us on a vain quest to find fulfillment. No,
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Pastor Tim Patoka
Under the Sun #9: The Sun Scorches New Plants August 9, 2020 God’s Word assures us of what our Lord has promised us – forgiveness, life, and salvation – all because the seed of his Word has sprouted to be faith in our hearts. 2) Hardships Strengthen Faith It is from this seed which is sown in the good soil of faith that later produces a harvest many times more than what was originally sown. Jesus doesn’t speak here about how that little sprout eventually becomes a bountiful harvest. We learn elsewhere in the Bible that this happens through continued time and study in God’s Word. But along with that time in God’s Word are these same hardships that seek to threaten our faith. For it we look at them correctly, we can indeed strengthen our faith all the more so that we become living examples of what Jesus says about that fourth kind of seed which was sown in the good soil, “But the ones sown on the good ground are those who hear the word, accept it, and produce fruit: some thirty, some sixty, and some one hundred times as much as was sown.” (Mark 4:20) This bountiful harvest is measured in sharing God’s Word with others. And that can happen in a number of ways like – traditional outreach, spiritually caring for our friends and family, and building up our brothers and sisters in our church family so that we further mature our faith. But how is it that we can take these same threatening hardships and have them help us? With that first one – with Satan tempting us to dismiss God’s Word before we even have a chance to listen to it – we can remind ourselves that we cannot fully appreciate what our Lord has said in a quick or single pass through. As we increase our Bible knowledge, we increasingly see how interconnected its 66 books are. We go through life experiences that make us need Scripture’s reassuring comfort or help us learn it with wisdom and not merely knowledge. With that second one – with the rocky soil and its persecutions and troubles – we can view these trying moments as tests to our faith. As we face adversity, we go to our Lord and his Word for help and strength. And when we leave it, we come stronger for it despite the scars we may carry. We can even have the same viewpoint as the apostles did in Acts chapter 5 where they looked at their hardships as a badge of honor, that they were considered worthy enough to suffer as did Christ. With that third one – with the thorns and sinful devices competing for our time and energy – we can show our identity as children of God. While we enjoy what God gives to us in this life and honor the representatives he has placed over us, our home and treasure remains in heaven. So if we stand out a bit because we 4
Pastor Tim Patoka
Under the Sun #9: The Sun Scorches New Plants August 9, 2020 turn down this or that or don’t chase after something or someone all because we are pushing down the thorns which threaten our time with God, that’s alright. For we know what is most important. And as seed who are sown in the good soil so that we have faith in God’s Word, we can look forward to producing a harvest that is 30, 60, or even 100 times more than what was originally sown. Outreach is a natural place for this to happen. Even in the midst of coronavirus, we have coming opportunities to do congregational outreach all across Grace’s sites and that’s not including your personal and friendship outreach you can do. Perhaps more so now than ever before, we realize how much we need our friends and family to be whole. As you keep these connections strong, also include their spiritual health and prayers for them to be this seed in good soil. As we come together as a church family, we have opportunities to encourage and build each other up in and around God’s Word. But let us also be patient as we sow the seed of God’s Word. Thinking back to our parable, of the 4 types of soil, there are 3 that produced less than desirable results. By law of averages, it is very likely that the seed we sow will likely fall on less than ideal soil. But don’t let that get you down. For when that seed falls on good soil, it will produce a harvest is that 30, 60, or even 100 times more bountiful than what you were privileged to sow. For someone like me who doesn’t have much of a green thumb, I could learn a thing or two from our verses for this morning. Yet this Parable of the Sower and the Seed is not about 1st century farming techniques in Israel, it’s Jesus’ teaching us about the hardships that often come with faith in God’s Word. Such hardships are indeed threatening to the seed’s survival and has a high track record. Such hardships also threaten our faith. But it is worth the hardships because of who our faith is founded in, what he has done for us, and the blessings he gives to us. And while we may not choose to have it happen this way, we can also see how such hardships can strengthen our faith and help us produce that harvest that is 30, 60, or even 100 times more than what originally sown. Amen.
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