(On a table on the stage, have a pile of dirt, a piece of a road, some rocky soil, a chunk of dirt with weeds or thorns in it, and a pile of good potting soil…)

(As everyone leaves, give them a bag of dirt…)

Good morning.  Well, it’s been a couple of weeks since I have been here, but let me give you just a little review of the last couple weeks.  First off, vacation was a lot of fun, until the second day when I broke a toe on a suitcase…

Other than that, our time in Florida was great.  A lot of eating at new restaurants, and off course, all the weight that we had lost for vacation, was gained right back in those 7 days….

And then the week before vacation, we took the older kids to a week of Summer In The Son.  The week that we attended, there were over 600 teens in attendance.  It was a great week of worship, speaking, drawing closer to God, and drawing closer to each other as a group.  Here are a few pictures from our week at Summer In The Son…

Now, as I like to do each year when we get back from a conference, I like to share a few things that we learned while we were there.  So, for this week, and next, we will take a look at a couple of things that the youth learned in their week of S.I.T.S.  I will use some of what the speakers talked about, and add in some of my own thoughts, and hopefully we will all grow from our time together.

But before we get started today, allow me to begin with a word of prayer.

Let’s Pray!

Well, the week began with the speaker letting us know how we were created.  If you have your Bibles with you, you can turn with me to Genesis chapter 1 and follow along.  I will try and go through this quickly, so you may not be able to follow along.

Genesis chapter 1 verse 1, through chapter 2 verse 3 tells us that, “1”

So, the story of creation, real quick like, God created everything:

1. On the first day, He created the light, and He called it day and night.
2. On the second day, He created the sky.
3. On the third day, God created the land and the plants, and the seas.
4. On the fourth day, He created the sun, the stars, and the moon.
5. On the fifth day, God created the creatures of the sea, and the birds of the air.
6. On the sixth day, He created the wild animals of the earth, and He finished off by creating man.
7. And on the seventh day, God rested.

One day a group of scientists got together and decided that man had come along way and no longer needed God.  So they picked one scientist to go and tell Him that they were done with Him.  The scientist walked up to God and said, “God, we’ve decided that we no longer need you.  We’re to the point that we can clone people and do many miraculous things, so why don’t you just go and get lost.”

God listened very patiently and kindly to the man.  After the scientist was done talking, God said, “Very well, how about this?  Let’s say we have a man-making contest.”  To which the scientist replied, “Okay, great!”  But, God added, “Now we’re going to do this just like I did back in the old days with Adam.”  The scientists said, “Sure, no problem,” and bent down and grabbed himself a handful of dirt.

God looked at him and said, “No, no, no.  You go get your own dirt.”

Well, those scientist forgot one thing, God created the dirt that He used to create us.  In Genesis 2:7 we are told that, “…the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground…”

It’s interesting to see that we were not created from anything special.  In fact, we are just a bunch of dirt bags.  Isn’t that what we just read?  Genesis 2:7, “…the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground…”

You see, humans were made from dirt; there is nothing special about us.  But then, God breathed into its nostrils the breath of life.  You see, that is the only thing that makes us special.  Continuing on, Genesis 2:7 says, “…the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.”

So, God just picked up a handful of dirt, breathed His breath into it, and it became a living being.

Now, God used dirt in order to create us, but while Jesus was here, He used dirt to teach us a lesson.  There was another time in scripture that Jesus talked about dirt.  In fact, He talked about 4 different kids of dirt.  If you have your Bibles with you, go ahead and turn with me to the book of Mark, and turn to chapter 4.  In this section, Jesus tells a parable about a farmer.

You know, all through scripture we find Jesus telling people stories.  Jesus knew that talking to people about difficult things like, God, and salvation, and the Kingdom of God would be too hard for them to understand.  So instead, Jesus just told a bunch of stories about sheep.  He told a lot of stories about fishing.  He even told some stories about farming.  He did all of that, because the people He was talking to were able to understand those things, because those things were part of their lives.

Then Jesus would let them know that even though He was talking about sheep, He wasn’t really talking about sheep.  Even though He told a story about a group of fishermen, He wasn’t really talking about fishing.  And in our text today, even though He is talking about a farmer, He isn’t really talking about farming.

Follow along with me, Mark 4:1-9 says, “2”

So, we have 4 different kinds of soil:

1. We have soil that is like a path, or a road.  The seed that was scattered there, the birds came and ate.
2. We have the soil that is full of rocks.  The seeds that landed there grew quickly, but because of no roots, when the sun came out, it was burnt up.
3. We also have the soil that is full of thorns.  The seeds that fell there grew, but when problems and other desires came their way, they coked out the seed and it did not produce anything.
4. And finally, we have the good soil.  The seeds that were scattered here grew, and they produced a harvest 30, 60, even 100 times what was planted.

In the movie Gettysburg, there is a scene the night before the main battle. The commanding General of the Union Army, George Meade, comes to the house where their headquarters have been established.  He looks at one of his core commanders and asks the question, “Is this good ground?  Is this the place to have an army?”

Perhaps it is a question that we must ask ourselves.  Is this good ground?  Is my heart the kind of ground that God can grow?  And according to Jesus there are 4 kinds of ground:

1. There is the hard heart.
2. There is the shallow heart.
3. There is the crowded heart.
4. There is the fruitful heart.

We need to ask ourselves if we have the kind of heart in which God can produce fruit.

So, Jesus tells this parable, and then later on, He tells His disciples the meaning behind what He has said.  In other words, Jesus says, “I just told you about a farmer, some seeds, and different kinds of dirt, but I wasn’t really talking about farming.”

Continuing on, in Mark 4:13-20 Jesus says, “2”

So, again we have 4 different kinds of soil.  And Jesus tells His following that the farmer is going to be God, and that the seed is God’s word.  And as God’s word goes out, in land in all kinds of different soils, or people’s lives.  And here are the results…

1. We have soil that is like a path, or a road.  The seed that was scattered there landed on hard soil.  Some people’s hearts are so hard, that they don’t give God’s word a change to grow in their lives.  And as a result, just like a bird gets the seeds on the path, Satan comes in and snatches it away.
2. We have the soil that is full of rocks.  The seeds that landed there grew quickly, but because of no roots, when the sun came out, it was burnt up.  Some people, when they hear the word of God, they quickly jump on board, sometimes without any thought to it.  But then, because they have no root, when troubles come their way, they quickly fall away.

3. We also have the soil that is full of thorns.  The seeds that fell there grew, but when problems and other desires came their way, they coked out the seed and it did not produce anything.  In life, a lot of times a person can become a Christian, and after a while, all of these other desires, and worries of life can creep in and choke out what God is trying to accomplish.
4. And finally, we have the good soil.  The seeds that were scattered here grew, and they produced a harvest 30, 60, even 100 times what was planted.  These are the people who hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop for the Lord.

This parable is about the condition of the human heart.  Jesus always emphasized that it is not a good sermon that makes for good worship but good listeners.  It is not so much the mouth of the pulpit but more the ears of the pews that make for good worship.  You see, a good crop depends upon the character of the ground in which it is sown.

You can plant the best of seeds in bad soil and still get nothing.  So, let’s take one last look at each of these soils in respect to the human heart.

First, the trampled soil, or the roadway or path.  Here is the condition of that soil, it is trampled down.  It is packed down so much that is has actually become so hardened that the seeds cannot penetrate.  And more than likely, it has become packed down by sin.

And as a result, the seed never takes root.  In fact, Satan takes away the seed as soon as it is sown.

Secondly, we have the rocky soil, it is really shallow soil.  The condition of this heat is that it has only a little soil on the surface.  I read the other day that in many places in Palestine there is only an inch or 2 of soil on top of a ledge of limestone rock.  If seed falls on this ground it will grow and germinate quickly.  The limestone holds heat from the sun which creates ideal conditions for seeds to sprout.  But after the seed puts down roots in search of water it starves and dies just as quickly as it grew.  There is no substance on the ledge to sustain it.

Now, in a persons life, that can be caused by a lack of Bible study, a lack of spiritual growth.  This is the person that has been moved emotionally, but have not fully committed themselves to God.  And as a result of that, as soon as a person is knocked off their emotional mountain peak by the hard realities of everyday life they simply give up.  You see, the lack of sustaining roots leave them with nothing to fall back on.

The third soil is the thorny soil, or the soil that is infested by weeds.  This soil has been cultivated, and it has few if any rocks.  The conditions for growth are very good with this soil.  But, the thing that hurts this soil is that thorns are allowed to grow along with the seed.

Now, when it comes to the condition of a person’s hear, it is caused by a couple of things. 

Perhaps it is the worry about the things of life.  Maybe it is the desire to get so many things in life, that it takes our attention away from what really matters.  Perhaps it is even a few hard times in life; a couple of rocky places.

And when that happens, it chokes out all that God is trying to accomplish.  And as a result of that, the thorns, or the weeds eventually choke out the good crop.

And finally, we have the good soil.  This soil is deep soil, it has few if any rocks, it has been cultivated, it has been weeded, and it is ready for growth.  These are the people who hear the word, accept the word, and most importantly, they produce fruit.  And as a result, they grow the way that they are supposed to.  And in the end, they produce 30, 60, even 100 times what was planted.

So, let me ask you, where do you find yourself in this parable?  What are you doing to prepare your soil?  Have you cultivated the soil?  Have you removed the rocks?  Have you removed the thorns and the weeds that will choke out your growth?  The condition of your heart is the final and decisive factor in your salvation.  All that God and Jesus have done will come to no effect in your life if your heart is not prepared and ready to receive the seed being sown upon it.

As we begin to wrap things up, in the movie Gettysburg, General Meade asks his commanding officer if were they were was good ground.  And his core commander, answered him by saying, “Yes, General, this is good ground!”

And that’s exactly what we want Jesus to say of us, “Yes, this is good ground!”

As we close this morning, allow me to read for you Mark 4:14-20 in the Message translation.  In that translation it says it this way, “The farmer plants the word.  Some people are like the seed that falls on the hardened soil of the road.  No sooner do they hear the word than Satan snatches away what has been planted in them.  And some are like the seed that lands in the gravel.  When they first hear the word, they respond with great enthusiasm.  But there is such shallow soil of character that when the emotions wear off and some difficulty arrives, there is nothing to show for it.  The seed cast in the weeds represents the ones who hear the kingdom news but are overwhelmed with worries about all the things they have to do and all the things they want to get.  The stress strangles what they heard, and nothing comes of it.  But the seed planted in the good earth represents those who hear the word, embrace it, and produce a harvest beyond their wildest dreams.”

When it comes to the effectiveness of God’s word in your life, it all depends upon the condition of your heart.  So, is your heard good for growth?

Let’s Pray!

(As everyone is leaving, give them a bag of dirt to take home…?)