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The Parable of the Four Soils and the Mental Battle
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Every person sitting here today has an outside life that everybody can see and an inside life that very few people are allowed to look at. Jesus doesn't just give us an illustration of the inner life—he gives us a revelation of the life he has for us. Long before Disney and Pixar came up with this idea, God understood that what happens internally always precedes what happens externally. If you want to understand a person's life, you have to understand what is happening beneath the surface.
One of my favorite authors, John Ortberg, wrote a book on mental health and called depression and anxiety "the common cold of the emotional life." Not to trivialize it, but to say that everybody eventually is going to face it. Maybe you've been through it. Maybe you're in a difficult time right now. Maybe you're here in church and you need the peace of God that surpasses all understanding that guards your heart and your mind in Christ Jesus.
I grew up in a small town in Hawaii on the Big Island. My upbringing was great, but we all went through difficult and challenging times. When I was 19 years old, I became a single father with my oldest daughter, Courtney. Her mom left, and I was the sole provider. But when I came into relationship with Jesus Christ at age 21, God touched my life so powerfully.
About four years later, I met my beautiful wife, Lisa. We've been married for 32 years now. But I remember when we were younger—I was coaching Becca's basketball team, Courtney was a rebellious teenager, and Carus had just been born. We weren't sleeping. I was coaching her basketball team, trying to tell parents to stay on the sidelines, and everything was overwhelming.
I remember driving home from practice and having a breakdown right there on the side of the road. I started crying and said, "What is wrong with me, Lord?" This was about 20 years ago. I called my friend Don, who's a pastor in Orlando. He told me to get worship music in me, read scripture, change my diet, sleep longer, and take walks along the beach. Two weeks later, nothing had changed. He said, "Maybe you need to see a doctor." That was the last thing I wanted to hear. Then he said, "Maybe you need to see a therapist." Back then, nobody went to therapists, and you definitely didn't want to get diagnosed with anxiety or depression. But I knew that if I didn't get help, I would fall apart.
I learned that I was only human. When I did get help, my life began to change.
I learned that there are over 60 billion neurons in our brain. But I also learned that there are 40,000 neurons in our heart. Your heart actually has brain cells in it. And there are about 100 million neurons in your gut, in your stomach. That's why your brain, your heart, and your stomach all work together.
Some people say, "Just go with your heart." But the Bible says the heart is deceitful above all things. If we all went with our heart, we would be in trouble. What do we do with our minds? That's what I want to talk about today—the parable of the four soils in the context of the mind. We've got to be careful what's in our mind.
Jesus in Matthew 13 talks about the parable of the soils. I'm going to share it not just in the way of salvation, but also in the way of how the heart and the mind are connected. The same seed will be put in four different environments, and we're going to see which one grows the best.
Matthew 13:3-9 tells us:
"Listen, a farmer went out to plant some seed. And as he scattered them across the field, some seed fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate them. And other seeds fell on shallow soil with underlying rock, and the seed sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow. But the plants soon wilted under the hot sun. And since they didn't have deep roots, they died. Other seeds fell among thorns and grew up and choked out all the tender plants. And still other seeds fell on fertile soil and they produced a crop that was 30, 60, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted. Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand."
Jesus' disciples asked him, "Why are you talking in parables?" He said, "I'm trying to give you a spiritual truth wrapped up in a story."
Matthew 13:19 explains: "The seed that fell on the footpath represents those who hear the message about the kingdom and don't understand it. Well, then the evil one, Satan, comes and snatches away the seed that was planted in their hearts."
The first soil is a hardened mind. The footpath is where the farmer walks. After a while, it gets packed down because someone keeps walking on it. When the seed fell on the footpath, the birds came and took it away—a picture of the devil coming and taking the seed away.
Sometimes when you have a hard heart or a hard mind, it's very difficult for the seed to penetrate. Some people were brought up with a hard life. Some people did hard time. Because of that, maybe you have a hard heart. It could be disappointment. It could be frustration. You could be mad right now. You could have a hardened heart coming into church.
But God wants to penetrate that heart. He wants to get there. He wants to plant his seed in your heart. No matter how hard it is, he can penetrate it if you allow him, because he loves you so much. In the beginning, I had a hard heart. I was raised going to church as an altar boy, but Jesus was in my head, not in my heart. Nobody told me about John 3:3—that you must be born again. I never read the Bible. But God began to change things in my life. We've got to protect our hearts in the name of Jesus.
Matthew 13:20-21 says: "The seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy. They get so excited about it the first time they give their lives to the Lord. But since they don't have deep roots, they don't last long and they fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God's word."
They fall away because they have problems and are persecuted. The roots didn't go deep. Sometimes you give your life to Jesus and life just gets harder. You know why? Because now the enemy knows that you are a threat. If he can steal your joy, if he can add some problems to you, you're going to say, "Oh, I tried church. It doesn't work."
Or sometimes you're persecuted because you're taking a stand and growing in the Lord. You're reading your Bible and your mind is being transformed by the renewing of your mind. You don't do what you used to do. You don't act the way you used to act. You don't jump into what you used to jump into. Now you're different, and now you're getting persecuted where you work. It's real easy for you to dim your light and keep the salt in the salt shaker because of the persecution. You shrink back. But Jesus doesn't want you to shrink back. He wants you to stand firm. He wants you to grow like never before.
When I was 17 years old, I went to the University of Hawaii as a freshman. I went from a small town of 2,000 people to a city of a million people—a country boy lost in the big city. My friends told me about a Christian club on campus. I didn't know what to expect, but I went. People were clapping, worshiping, singing. Someone gave a message and an invitation to surrender your life to Christ. I raised my hand. I didn't know what my next step was. I asked, "What do I do next?" They said, "Just read the Gospel of John and come back next week." Guess what the devil did? He distracted me, and I never came back until four years later. That's what happens when you don't disciple. That's what happens when you don't allow your roots to grow down deep. It's the shallow mind.
Matthew 13:22 tells us: "The seed that fell among the thorns represents those who hear God's word, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life and the lure of wealth. So no fruit is produced on this soil. It's choked out."
It's distracted. I think we live in the most distracted generation the world has ever had. When I was studying under my pastor in the 80s and 90s, there was no internet yet. We had computers, but no laptops or worldwide web. I got my old Gateway 2000 computer—the one that looked like a cow on the outside. And I was so excited. Then laptops came out. Then MySpace and all these different social media things. Now today you have Instagram, YouTube, TikTok. We are the most distracted generation ever.
Jesus said that these things can choke out the word from growing in our lives. Some of my ushers tell me, "Pastor, we're mad at service because we see people playing Candy Crush while you preach." I'm mad too! We get so distracted by our notifications on our phone. Jesus said, "Don't let that take your quiet time away from me." When you live a focused life instead of a distracted life, when you get rid of the thorns all around you, then you begin to focus on everything that Jesus has for you.
Matthew 13:23 says: "The seed that fell on good soil represents those who truly hear and understand. They obey and apply God's word and produce a harvest of 30, 60, or even 100 times as much as had been planted."
The fourth kind of soil is the fertile mind. The mind is compared to two things: a battlefield and a field or vineyard. The biggest battle that you're ever going to fight is not necessarily the battle on the outside. The biggest fight is the battle on the inside. I call it the battle between the buds—your earbuds, your earpods. That's the biggest battle we will face. It's a mental battle. It's actually spiritual warfare.
I wrote a book called Blow Your Mind. God wants to blow your mind in a way that when you realize the brain and the thinking and imagination that he gave us was something beautifully designed.
You change your thinking, you change your life. The assault is on your mind. It's called the fiery darts. The Apostle Paul says it's not just a little dart—it's an arrow wrapped around with material dipped in flammable liquid. The enemy releases that arrow into your mind. That's why you have the craziest thoughts all of a sudden: "I never thought I'd ever think this. There's no way I would ever do that. Where did that come from?" The devil. The enemy. Satan. Our adversary.
For me, if I'm in a high hotel, I don't normally go to the edge of a balcony because every now and then I'd hear a voice: "You'd be okay. You should jump." I say, "Get thee behind me. This is the devil. There's no way. I love my life. I've got so much to live for." Where did that come from? The devil.
Two years ago, I was under spiritual warfare. That year I got tinnitus—the ringing in the ear. It took two years to get rid of. That was the year I got TMJ, this pain in the jaw that clicks every time. That was the year I lost two very close friends. I knew I was under spiritual attack. Of course, I was calling my prayer team. Of course, Lisa was laying hands on me and praying. But I also realized these thoughts were weighing on me, tormenting me. I could not shake it. I would change the subject. But nothing changed until I began to monitor my thoughts and change my language.
You've got to watch your words. The language I was using needed to change. I began to speak to myself. I began to speak to my soul. I began to use the word of God to change the way I think by saying things that aligned with God's word.
"Death and life are in the power of the tongue and those who love it shall eat its fruit."
I began to watch my words. I began to speak life instead of speaking death. I began to say things that were positive—not just having a positive mental attitude, but utilizing the word of God to change the way I think by the words I would say. You reinforce what you think by what you say, and your brain is listening, not just your ears.
That's why the song that we sang earlier—"Dead things come to life"—is so powerful. Who are you saying that to? You're saying it to yourself. "Dead things come to life in the name of Jesus." Or "Come on my soul, don't you get shy on me. Lift up your song cuz you got a lion." You're talking to your soul. When you talk to your soul, when you speak to yourself not negatively but speaking life, you change the way you think.
You've got to guard your thoughts. You wouldn't just let anybody walk through your front door, right? You wouldn't let just anybody come and sit in your passenger seat, would you? Then why would we let certain thoughts come into our head and entertain them? We need to kick it out in the name of Jesus.
Sometimes I think, "I got this thought," and I rebuke that in the name of Jesus. I rebuke that thought. Sometimes you've got to get strong with it. You've got to rebuke it. You've got to be able to rebuke things in the name of Jesus. And you have to guard your thoughts.
My daughter plays at the highest level of D1 sports. I taught her something I learned from Vince Lombardi when he took over as the Green Bay Packers coach. They were losing all the time until he realized that the assistant coaches were showing them plays of what they did NOT do well so they could do it better. Good intentions. But they kept watching replays of unsuccessful plays.
Then Vince Lombardi had an idea: Let's show them doing a successful act instead of the replays of negative plays. They began to watch pre-play instead of replay. And when they began to pre-play instead of replay, they turned their season around and went on to win five championships in the NFL and the Super Bowl.
Too many people in our lives are replaying images that no longer belong to us. We've got to replace them with something better in the word of God. We've got to guard our thoughts in the mighty name of Jesus.
Your words reinforce things, and your mind will gravitate to the thing that you think about the most. When you think about your life and everything that is in your mind and in your heart, you've got to protect it. You've got to weed it. There are no neutral thoughts in your mind. If you don't weed your garden, Satan will plant weeds while you sleep. You have to be intentional with the words you use and with changing and renewing your mind by the way you think.
Romans 12:1-2 tells us:
"Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy to offer your bodies as living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, and this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. And then you'll be able to test and approve what God's will is—His good, pleasing, and perfect will for your life."
You've got to water your mind. Feed your mind with the word of God. Why do they call it the water of the word? Ephesians 5 calls it the "washing of the water of the word of God." Every time you read the word, you are cleansing your mind. Every time you're in the word, you are changing your thoughts. Every day you are being renewed by the word of God because of everything that God is doing in your life. If you change the way we think, it'll change the course of our life.
What soil is it? Is it hardened? Let the Lord break through today. Allow forgiveness. Release offense. Let the Lord soften your heart.
Is it shallow? Grow your roots deep. Get baptized. Join a small group. Serve in the ministry. Take your eyes off yourself and put your eyes on somebody else. See what God does when you begin to serve somebody.
Distracted? Focus in on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith. While the winds and the waves come at you as you're walking on the water, listening to Jesus, keep your eyes fixed on him, focused on him. The closer you get to the Lord, the more all of our problems begin to diminish around us. They're still there, but you draw closer to Jesus, and he's greater than all of your challenges around you.
Fertile soil? Well, let's get about producing harvests of 30, 60, and 100 in the name of Jesus.
I want to do something different to close. Put your hand right here on your head. We're going to do a declaration—a declaration that comes in alignment with the word of God. I want you to repeat after me:
Father, I thank you that you have given me the mind of Christ. And I ask for a peace that surpasses all understanding that guards my heart and mind in Christ Jesus. For you have not given me a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and of a sound mind. And I thank you that I am being transformed by the renewing of my mind by the word of God in Christ Jesus. Amen and amen.
After all of this teaching, the most important prayer we're going to pray is the one of salvation. No matter who you are, where you've been, or what you've done, today is the day of your salvation. When I was 17, I was gone. When I was 19, I was a father. When I was 21, I had done so much damage that I was struggling. My friend kept telling me to come to church. I didn't want to go, but he begged me, bothered me, and finally bribed me with free breakfast.
When you are a single dad at 21 without much money, someone says free food and you'll go. I came to church for the very first time. I was nervous. I thought everybody would judge me, but it was my insecurity. They sat me in the second row. I saw the worship words and was immediately touched. I was tearing up. And I told my friend, "Look, I'm going to give you one shot. This preacher better be good, or I'm not coming back."
If this is your one shot, I want to tell you that Jesus loves you. He died on the cross for you to forgive you of your sins. Everything that you've ever done, everything that you don't want nobody to know about—everything. He's washed clean by the blood of Jesus. Sent into the sea of forgetfulness, never to be remembered again. As far as the east is from the west, that's how far he will remove your sin from you. And he wants to come into your life and change you from the inside out.
You can't think your way to heaven. You can't hope your way to heaven. You have to know that you know that you know. And if you're going to make that commitment, you've got to go all in. Go all in on fertile soil. Don't let it be shallow. Don't let it get hard. Don't let it get thorny. Let's go all in together and watch Jesus change your life from the inside out and give you heaven as well.
Because when you die, there are only two places—heaven and hell. There is no purgatory. There is no do-over. There is no reincarnation. You get one shot at this life, and then comes eternity and then comes the judgment. Wouldn't you want to be in eternity with Jesus over the alternative, which is total separation from God?
If today is the day you're going to give your life to Jesus, pray this prayer with me:
Jesus, today I surrender. I give you my life. Thank you for dying on the cross, shedding your blood that washes my sins as white as snow. I also thank you that when I die, when my time comes, I'll be with you for all eternity. But while I'm here, be my strength for today, my hope for tomorrow, my ever-present help in my time of need. You're my God and I'm your child. The old has passed, the new has begun. I'm a new creation in Christ Jesus, created to serve you and to bring you glory with the life you gave me. So mold me, shape me, lead me, guide me, heal me, fill me, use me and send me to fulfill your purpose for my life on this earth in Jesus name. Amen.
