Remember that wonderful moving worship service where, all of a sudden, a wave of humanity rose? They flowed forward to confess their faith in Christ. Sadly, studies show that six months later, the majority of these people return to their old ways and show no evidence of conversion whatsoever. They “tube it”. The expression comes from kids arriving at camp, singing songs around the bonfire, creating great memories, but soon falling away from their profession of faith. They go down the tubes. What happened?
WHAT LIES ON THE SURFACE OF YOUR HEART?
The heart’s soil is the golden link as to whether a conversion is genuine or not. What lies on the surface of your heart? Read Mark 4:1-20.
#1 ROCK HARD SOIL
In the Parable of the Soils, the seed is dispersed all over the field. Sadly, seeds fall on the footpaths running through the field where the ground is as hard as iron. No good seed can take root. Many of Jesus’ words fell on rock-hard hearts. Bottom line, the hearers obstinately refused to repent and obey.
#2 THOSE WHO QUICKLY WHITHER
Then there are the hearers who receive the word with joy. This is excellent, except that they have no deep convictions, but “they suddenly leap into Christ, and profess an instantaneous faith in him, and that faith has all the appearance of being genuine. The self-same cause which hastened their reception of the seed also causes them, when the sun is risen with its fervent heat, to wither away” (Charles Spurgeon). Nice people, but spiritually flaky. Maybe they receive an answered prayer, a rescue from a difficult situation, but when they realize the cost of discipleship, they quickly exit. They are like King Saul. He was among the prophets, enjoyed the notoriety, yet planned evil against the Most High as soon as things did not go his way.
#3 THOSE WHO AMOUNT TO NOTHING
Next, we have the hearers whose seed appears to land on good soil. Charles Spurgeon writes that the farmer is happy to see the crop growing, but notices that after the seed has sprung up “there’s a suspicious little plant down there of about the same size as the wheat. ‘Oh!’ the farmer thinks, ‘that’s not much; the harvest will outgrow that. When it is stronger, it will choke these few thistles that have unfortunately mixed with it.’ The farmer does not understand the force of evil! He comes again, and the seed has grown, but the thistles, the thorns, and the briars are intertwined with one another. The poor wheat can hardly get a ray of sunshine and is starved. Still, it perseveres in growing, and it appears it may bring forth a little fruit. Alas, it never comes to anything”.
The Apostle Paul wrote this about his co-worker Demas, who deserted his calling because he loved the things of this life. Some get sidetracked, and because of perceived needs, “have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.”
#4 DEEPLY PLOWED, RICH SOIL
Thankfully, there is the heart whose soil has been deeply plowed. This heart’s soil is soft, raked, and cleared of weeds. The seed of the Word falls on it, and soon, with the right conditions, it yields a full harvest. Is this the condition of your heart’s soil?
REAL CONVERSION TURNS YOUR LIFE UPSIDE DOWN
“Anybody can say they believe and have their hearts tingling for a moment. But real conversion turns your life upside down. Regeneration is not something that happens gradually, nor is anybody ever partially reborn. You are either regenerated or not. That being said, your conversion experience, your intellectual awareness of what has taken place, may take years to realize” (R.C. Sproul). Do you daily let God nourish, support, and prune your heart? What kind of soil surrounds your heart?
Click to hear the astounding transformation of Oscar Navarro