Scripture: Mark 4:1-9,13-20
Contrary to what the back of the bulletin says, I’m only going to make two points in today’s sermon—first point, a warning: even a dramatic conversion story isn’t enough. And Point Number Two: An encouragement: there is unsurpassable joy in “treasuring Christ above all.”
But first… Point Number One…
Listen… No one loves a dramatic conversion story more than I do…
And I love sharing my own story about coming to faith in Jesus Christ: I can name the time and the place where Jesus finally got hold of me—when I trusted in him as my Savior and Lord, after at least months or even years of anxiousness about my relationship to God, and about my fear of dying and being eternally separated from him… I’ve told you before that I had a neighbor down the street, as well as a first cousin—both of whom seemed eager to warn me about hell. But far less eager to tell me how exactly to become a Christian. It’s weird… But I did become a Christian eventually… on my birthday in 1984: February 18… It was a Saturday evening… I was on a winter retreat with my Southern Baptist youth group… We were staying at an Episcopal retreat center called In-the-Oaks, a beautiful Tudor mansion in Black Mountain, North Carolina. The mansion included a bowling alley, a swimming pool, and, best of all—something that intrigued us kids—a wine cellar behind a hidden door in the wall, built by its original owner for storing hooch during Prohibition
In-the-Oaks was just down the road, in fact, from Montreat, where Billy Graham lived… I wonder if he was home at the time?
The worship leader for the weekend was a Christian musician named Al Holley 1—who, I’m pleased to see on his website, still has a music ministry to this day… He led us in singing some old-fashioned Christian camp songs like, “I’ve got a river of life flowing out of me,” and “Deep and Wide,” and “I’ve got so much, so much, so much to be thankful for…”
But I remember feeling an incredible sense of love and acceptance from some of the college-aged and young adult chaperones on the retreat, including Jimmy and Beth Stewart… Mike Wallis, Trey Stripling, and Doug Kees… a future Methodist pastor named Brian Davis, who is now with Christ in glory… our youth intern at the time, Lee Bonner…
Most of all I remember having a profound encounter with Jesus, and being filled with his Spirit.
That weekend was incredibly important to me. I got saved… I got converted… I got born again. Like John Wesley, who experienced his own conversion on May 24, 1738, I felt that my heart was “strangely warmed.” Alongside Wesley I could say, “I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone, for salvation; and an assurance was given me that he had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death.” 2 Those things happened!
But now let me ask you this question: Am I saved today—am I a genuine Christiantoday—40 years later—because of what happened to me on February 18, 1984?
Before you answer… let’s please notice a few things in this so-called “Parable of the Sower”… First, Jesus gives the parable itself to a very large crowd of people and only later, in verses 10 to 20, when he’s alone with his closest group of disciples, does he give the interpretation of the parable.
There are four different kinds of soil, Jesus says, which represent the different ways people respond to the word of Jesus, to his gospel. This “word” is compared to a tiny seed. The first seed falls on the hard footpath, on which nothing can take root. The people represented by this first soil are those, Jesus says, who hear the word, according to verse 15, and “Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them.”
These first-soil people hear the gospel and immediately reject it.
The second soil—which is rocky and shallow—represents people who, Jesus says in verse 16, “immediately receive [the gospel] with joy.” But they abandon the faith when tribulation or persecution comes their way.
Speaking of which, I was heartbroken to read in an interview given in March of this year that rapper and musician Kanye West, now known as Ye, has abandoned his Christian faith. Three years ago, he had a very public, very outspoken conversion to Christianity—which included quickly recording a pretty good gospel album, not to mention telling everyone about Jesus—including going on Joe Rogan’s podcast and talking at length about the Bible and his newfound faith. For the past three tumultuous years, however, he has had very public problems in his personal and professional life… and he has struggled with mental illness. And in that March interview he said he was no longer a Christian, in part because he found that prayer didn’t help deliver him from all his troubles. 3
I sympathize; I’d be happy to counsel him, as a pastor, if I were able… But notice what Jesus says in verse 17: “when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word.” Like it or not, trouble is a feature, not a defect of Christianity.This trouble will arise, Jesus says, in the lives of all believers. These troubles are a promise of faith, not merely a potential threat to faith. No amount of prayer will prevent Jesus’ words from coming true for us Christians. We are meant to endure trouble when it comes… and while prayer will be an important and necessary means by which we get through through this trouble, it is not God’s will simply to deliver us from it.
So… I could be wrong, but it sounds like Kanye West, unfortunately, is a living example of this second-soil believer. I pray that he repents.
The third soil—which is covered with thorns—represents people who, like the second-soil people, receive the gospel, but see verse 19: “the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.”
Here, please notice… prosperity—not persecution—is the big problem. And between you and me, I think prosperity is a bigger problem for Christian faith than persecution.
Tara-Leigh Cobble, whose book and video series are helping to guide our “Journey Through the Bible” series, makes an excellent point here. In her video on this scripture, she said, “I find it interesting that both trials [as in the second soil] and abundance [as in the third] can overtake the seed [both trials and the opposite of trials, abundance, she says. She goes on:]. Things we view as curses and things we view as blessings can both serve to reveal our hearts.” 4
The fourth soil, of course, represents those people for whom the gospel of Jesus Christ takes root and produces a bumper crop.
But for this first point, what I want us to notice is that both the second-soil people and the third-soil people, at least at one time in their lives, could happily tell a dramatic conversion story—just like me! These people got off to a great start in their Christian faith. Like Jesus said, they “immediately receive [the word of the Lord] with joy.” They are nothing if not completely sincere in their newfound faith. But they don’t stay that way.
As a good Methodist, of course, this doesn’t surprise me. We Methodists historically believe in the doctrine of backsliding: that it’s possible that even a sincerely Christian believer can later fall away from the faith—and even lose the salvation previously granted them. And listen: I don’t care whether you’re a good Methodist or not. You don’t have to agree with me on this point. But it’s not just a Methodist doctrine… most Christian churches in the world believe this—based on solid evidence from scripture.
Our Baptist brothers and sisters, in general, disagree with us Methodists on backsliding. They say “once saved always saved.” So from their perspective, the people represented by the second and third soils were never truly believers to begin with—even if they appeared to be.
I don’t think the difference is all that important, frankly: because all of us have seen the same problem. We all have known people who seem—by all outward appearances—to have gotten off to a great start in their Christian life. People who by all outward appearances, sincerely received Christ as their Savior and Lord. People who, even like Kanye West, were once “on fire” for Jesus for some period of time in their lives… and who no longer are… They may reject Christ outright—like Kanye West—or they may simply live their lives as if they do… regardless what they say they believe.
So whether they were ever saved or were once saved but have backslidden and lost their salvation, the end result is the same: they need to repent and believe in Jesus… before it’s too late.
So the words of this parable are an urgent warning even to us faithful churchgoers: a dramatic conversion story—getting off to a great start in one’s Christian life—isn’t enough. What matters is being able to say, along with the apostle Paul near the end of his life, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” 5
This scripture convicts me in my own pastoral ministry: Because I have tried for twenty years—I have worked alongside youth pastors for the past 20 years of my pastoral ministry—to ensure that young people who go through confirmation in my church “really mean it,” that “they really get it,” that they sincerely believe when they stand up before God and the church and make a profession of faith in Christ and receive for themselves this gift of eternal life—I want them to really understand that what they’re doing isn’t some rite of passage, like getting a driver’s license or graduating high school… something they check off their list before moving on to the next milestone of life. I tell them, “This is the most important decision in your life, because life in this world, at its longest and fullest, is a blip in light of eternity.” You’ve heard me preach this message in church, including on confirmation Sunday. And my youth pastors over the years have preached the same message.
And the young people I preach this message to usually seem to get it! They do… They seem perfectly sincere!
And yet, in every church I’ve been a part of—despite every assurance to the contrary on the part of youth and their parents—after a short period of time, we lose many of these young people. They eventually drop out of church—which, to say the least, is a warning sign about their faith… and even their salvation…
And here’s the scary thing: When that happens, it doesn’t mean they didn’t get off to a great start… It doesn’t mean they weren’t sincere when they stood before church and made their vows to God and the congregation. That’s kinda what I used to think… I’m not so sure anymore.
Because if I take Jesus’ words to heart, I shouldn’t be surprised many people fall away: Even getting off to a great start in one’s faith doesn’t ensure that someone will actually finish the race.
I know these words are unpopular and even uncomfortable, but as your pastor, I must not “shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God” 6—which includes many warnings even to us faithful churchgoers like most of us.
As you assess whether you’re in a right relationship with God, you can’t simply rely on some event that happened in your past. The question is, “Where are you right now? Do you have a living relationship with God through Christ right now… Are you treasuring him above all right now, or… are you merely “checking a box” every week, month, quarter, year.
[Dr. Goodchild’s story… “Years ago, Brent told me not to come to his church. He doesn’t need another ‘C.E.O.’ in his church—a ‘Christmas and Easter Only’ Christian.”]
Maybe even at this moment the Lord is standing at the door of your heart and knocking, speaking into your heart, saying, “It’s time to repent and believe the gospel.” Or even, “It’s time to repent and believe the gospel again.” Don’t pass up this moment. No future moment is guaranteed. 7
But there’s also great encouragement here, and this is Point Number Two: There is unsurpassable joy in treasuring Christ above all…
I mentioned Tara-Leigh Cobble earlier. I love her! I have found her words deeply encouraging… I hope you have. And you know, if you watch her videos or read her blue book… you know how she concludes every video or every chapter. What does she say? “He’s where the joy is.” Christ is where the joy is.
It’s her catchphrase, and sometimes maybe it sounds a little forced. But when she’s talking about where true and lasting happiness and joy is found—in Christ alone—she is speaking my language! What do you think I’m talking about when I share the church’s vision statement—“treasuring Christ above all and helping others do the same”?
It’s only possible to treasure that thing that brings you joy! We treasure Christ because he is the source of joy in our lives. We won’t ultimately find joy in life apart from him.
But Tara-Leigh isn’t only speaking my language, she’s also speaking Jesus’ language.
After all, what do you think Jesus himself is talking about in verse 20? “But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.” One of the promised “fruits of the Spirit” is nothing other than joy!
Living a faithful Christian life is hard… As I’ve said, Jesus promises that life will be, in some ways, uniquely hard for us disciples—and he says this in today’s scripture and in many other places.
But it’s not only hard. Because “he is where the joy is.”
Only through faith in Christ can we experience a quality of life right now that we simply cannot experience apart from faith. And this quality of life is far better, and yes, far happier, far more joyful, than any other kind of life available elsewhere.
I went to Decatur on Friday night and saw a living legend of American music, Jimmy Webb. Even if you don’t know the name, you know his many hit songs, often sung by the late great Glen Campbell: “By the Time I Get to Phoenix,” “Wichita Lineman,” “Galveston,” “MacArthur Park”—a smash hit for both Richard Harris and disco queen Donna Summer. Remember that country hit from the ’80s, “Highwayman,” by Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, Waylon Jennings. Yep, that was Webb’s song, too.
During the concert he said that he was recently invited to a ceremony honoring Glen Campbell’s recording of his song “Wichita Lineman.” Because that recording was deemed to have sufficient cultural and artistic significance, the Library of Congress elected to preserve the recording in an underground vault that can withstand a direct nuclear missile strike.
Friday night, he talked about all the singers and artists he collaborated with, including Frank Sinatra, with whom he enjoyed a long friendship, although he never stopped calling him “Mr. Sinatra” to the end of Sinatra’s life. He was close friends with so many people whose music we know and love!
And you know me… I always wanted to be a rock star. I did! I mean, really, there were only two small things that held me back: a lack of talent and laziness about practicing my instrument. But except for that… I could have made it. But there’s still a small part of me—when I consider Jimmy Webb—that thinks, “He had it all. Back in the ’60s and ’70s… He had it all. And even though his celebrity has waned over the decades, he still has enough.”
Listen, I love music, as you know. My list of “living legends” is different from yours… You’ve got your own list related to whatever things you’re interested in. But I think you can see my point. We all have people about whom we can say, “I want to have what he or she has. I want to be like them!”
You know what Jimmy Webb also had for decades… in addition to the wealth, the stardom, the famous friends, the awards, the recognition? He had drug addiction… He had alcoholism… His life was a disaster, by his own admission, prior to the year 2000, when “by God’s grace”—his words—he became clean and sober.
Jimmy Webb was given all the things that I’m tempted think people need for lasting happiness and joy… He was given so much worldly treasure. Yet it didn’t satisfy him. It wasn’t enough for him. It didn’t bring him joy. In fact, it made him miserable.
My point is, all the possessions… all the people… all the fame… all the money… all the recognition… wasn’t nearly as good as what Jesus promises us in verse 20!
He really is where the joy is!
Let’s look for a second at Hebrews 10:34. There, the author is talking to Christians who are suffering persecution at the hands their local government—persecution like we can’t imagine in America with our First Amendment protections—and they are enduring these hardships all because of their faith. That’s hard. Many of them are being arrested and thrown in prison. That’s hard. But listen to what the author says in verse 34:
You suffered along with those who were thrown into jail, and when all you owned was taken from you, you accepted it with joy. You knew there were better things waiting for you that will last forever.
And the key words for me here are these: “you accepted it with joy.” You accepted violence, hardship, suffering, persecution, tribulations… with joy.
If we have joy—the greatest thing we can experience; the thing that literally every sane person in the world wants more than anything else… but if we can have joy, what can’t we “accept”? What won’t we be willing to accept… What won’t we be willing to endure, or put up with?
If the price of true and lasting happiness and joy right now, in this world, is suffering and hardship and difficult trials, we would all gladly pay that price! All of us would! Jimmy Webb paid the price for whatever joy this world has to offer… and it nearly destroyed him. By contrast, the price that Jesus asks us to pay will not only notdestroy us, it will lead to eternal life!
And it will give us unsurpassable joy right now!
That’s a pretty good deal, you’ve gotta admit!
Christ really is where the joy is!
Let’s pray…
“Lord, we know it’s true. You’ve shown us enough already—you’ve given us enough of this abundant life already—for us to know that “you are where the joy is”… But why are we often so thick in the head that we so easily and often forget that it’s true? Forgive us, Lord… And give us more of your abundant life—thirty-, sixty-, a hundred-fold… We’ll take whatever you give us. But give us more! And let us know more joy! Amen.”
- alholley.com
-
“What is Aldersgate Day?” umc.org, 6 August 2019. Accessed 21 May 2016. -
Nicole Van Dyke, “Kanye West says he has ‘issues with Jesus’ and is putting problems into his ‘own hands,’” 19 March 2024, christianpost.com. Accessed 21 June 2024. -
Tara-Leigh Cobble, “Day 287 (Matthew 13, Luke 8), youtube.com. Accessed 21 June 2024. - 1 Timothy 4:7 ESV
- Acts 20:26-27 ESV
- Revelation 3:20