Sowing Truth in the Fields

Mark 4:3

Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow:

We often compare the parable of the sower to the type of people we witness to and who respond in some manner to the Gospel. This comparison is the context in which Jesus spoke this parable. However, there are multiple applications you can take from every truth and incident in the Scriptures.

The parable of the sower can also be applied to those you teach or preach to. As a preacher of God’s Word for many years, I wish every person would heed what I have preached, but I have learned that you often have more who won't heed than who will. However, this does not keep me from preaching God’s Word because the few that do listen are the ones God can use to help influence a world for Christ. Let me point out the four crowds you will find yourself teaching and preaching to.

The first crowd are those that your teaching and preaching falls by the way side. The way side is false doctrine. Some hear what you tell them to do, but because they listen to or read from so many others who teach false doctrine, the truth has no chance to take root, and it dies.

The second crowd are those that your teaching and preaching fell on stony ground. The stony ground is a hard heart that won't heed what they heard. This crowd is so sad because they come, but they just won't do what they are told to do. Instead, they are hit-and-miss from the teaching, or they just have made up their mind they will do their own thing. These on the stony ground will find themselves one day paying a dear price for not doing what they heard.

The third crowd are those that your teaching and preaching falls into thorns. Thorns is a heart filled with sin and worldliness. Sin and worldliness always chokes out the ability of God’s Word to make an impact on their lives. This third crowd loves their sin and worldly living more than they love God’s Word and what it says, but they will find out that their thorny living always leads to heartache.

The fourth crowd are good ground, who listen and heed to what is being taught and preached. This is a small crowd of people, but you are still influencing people. This is the crowd whose lives are changing because they not only hear what they should be doing, but they are doing it.

With these four crowds in mind, let me share some applications to those who teach and preach. First, my goal is to get each crowd to become the good ground. I don't run off a person because they are in the first three, but I pray that God will somehow get through to the heart and become good ground. If you don't give up on people and keep teaching and preaching truth, you will find some of these in the first three categories will become good ground.

Second, don’t let the 75% who won’t heed what you teach keep you from helping the 25% who listen and do what you teach. Don't get so focused on the 75% that you hurt the 25% who want to do the right thing. Give your best to the 25% and help them, and while you are helping them, someone in the 75% may eventually become a part of the 25%.

Third, the responsibility is on the listener. As a listener, you have a responsibility to do what you hear. You can choose to be the 25% who hear and do, and you will find God’s blessings on your life if you become this 25% crowd.