Tuesday April 8, 2014

Read Mark 4:1-20
Unfortunately we tend to view Scripture through our experiences rather than viewing our experiences through Scripture. This direction makes a world of difference.

Cynthia was once a vibrant “Christian” filled with joy. But after several years of faithful church attendance she left the faith. She now calls herself an agnostic and appears to be drifting towards total atheism. How we interpret this experience will determine how we read Scripture. Do we interpret the Bible through our experiences and try to work Cynthia’s experience into the Bible? Or do we try to explain Cynthia’s experience through the truth of the Bible?

As we study the parable of the four soils we can take the latter approach. A genuine Christian world view looks at and interprets the world through the lens of Scripture. It does not distort the lens to suit the experiences we have. It does not view Scripture through the lens of experience! In this parable there are four soil types - a pathway, rocky soil, weedy soil and good soil. The seed, which Jesus tells us is the Word of God, that falls on the pathway is quickly taken away by satan. It bears no fruit. The seed that falls into rocky soil or weedy soil is received with joy but withers because of the fear of persecution. The seed that falls onto weedy soil is choked by the desire for other things, the worries of life or the deceit of wealth and makes it unfruitful. Only the seed that falls into good soil bears fruit.

When we understand this parable we can see that there are many people who receive the word of God but only the seed that falls into good soil bears fruit. The others will eventually fall away. Personally I’ve seen people, sadly, fall away from Christ because of the fear of persecution or the desire for worldly things. Some have turned to chase wealth. Others have turned to chase a life partner and others have been so fraught with worry that Christ gets pushed out to the side. Neither of these has borne any fruit.

How then can we approach Cynthia’s experience? There are two possibilities. Either she is one of the two soils that do not bear fruit or she is good soil and she will be granted repentance by God later on.
Our job is not to condemn her or judge her but to support her and to pray that the seed will find good soil in her heart so that it can grow and produce fruit. 

It’s imperative that we keep the lens of Scripture open and in front of us, interpreting our life experiences through Scripture rather than Scripture through our life experiences. There is no experience too difficult for Scripture to cope with.

Witness Moment
Good soil, we are told, bears fruit. When this good soil bears fruit in difficult times it’s a far more powerful testimony to Christ than emotion-less mundane sharing of the gospel over a cuppa.

Discussion Questions For Families and Groups

1. What kind of fruit do you think Jesus was referring to in this parable?
2. Is it important to know for certain that you are good soil? Explain your answer.
3. If someone you know appears to be weedy or rocky soil, what can you do to help or encourage them?

Prayer:
Having read today’s passages, jot down 2 points for each type of prayer.
Adoration:

Confess:

Thanks:

Supplication:

• Do you know people like Cynthia? Spend time praying for each of them by name, especially that God would work powerfully in their heart to produce good soil for the Word of God to bear fruit.
• Pray that each person in your congregation would be bearing good fruit 30, 60 even 100 times what was sown. Pray that your church would grow in depth of knowledge and love and also in number.