Stony Soil
Mark 4:16-17 (NKJV) These likewise are the ones sown on stony ground who, when they hear the Word, immediately receive it with gladness, and they have no root in themselves, and so endure only for a time. Afterward, when tribulation or persecution arises for the Word’s sake, immediately they stumble.
We saw last time that the “Wayside” soil is a soil where people hear the Word of God, but the devil comes immediately and steals the Word. We must pray for those people that the blinders come off their eyes. If we can also get them to a place where the Holy Ghost rain is being poured out, it will loosen up the soil of their heart.
The next kind of soil is “Stony” soil. This is a soil where there really isn’t much soil because it is full of things that Jesus called stones. There is some soil for the seed to go into but because there is no room for roots to form, the seed comes up immediately but does not remain. It is most interesting that with a natural seed, the first thing the seed tries to do is form roots and that is because the roots are what keeps the plant alive. That tells me that the first thing the Word of God should do in our lives is give us roots, so that our life can be supplied from the Word of God.
The Lord revealed something interesting to me. He said that all but the first kind of soil (Wayside) look the same on the outside. In other words, while I am teaching others the Word of God, I would not be able to distinguish between the last three kinds of soil. They all appear to receive the Word of God with gladness. They all probably even say, “Amen,” but the person who has shallow soil because of the stones in their heart loses what they have received because the devil can easily offend them.
Jesus talks about four things the Word thief sends. They are affliction, persecution, tribulation, and temptation; and every born-again believer deals with them. So, it is not, “If they come,” it is, “Do you have the right soil type when they do come?” First Peter 5:9 says that these same afflictions happen to all the brethren. First Thessalonians 1:6 says they received the Word of God in much affliction. My point is that when the affliction comes, if you do not have stony soil, the seed will produce. It is the soil and not the affliction that keeps the Word of God from producing. Persecution also comes to everyone, as it says in 2 Timothy 3:12, “Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” Again, it is not the persecution but the soil type that causes the Word of God not to produce. Tribulation, which is suffering distress, grievous trouble, or adversity also comes to all believers. Jesus even said so in John 16:33 “…in the world you shall have tribulation; but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” The last one is temptation. A temptation is a desire to do something wrong. It is a trial being put to a test. We know, according to James 1:12-15, that the devil brings temptations to our flesh, but the Word tells us in 1 Corinthians 10:13 that God has made a way to escape every temptation.
What must we do to help people with stony soil? We need to help them be doers of the Word. They must make Jesus the Lord of their lives. They need someone to help them, like a mentor. Doing these things will get and keep the stones out.