Speaking of 4th Soil

A lot of disciple-makers have so much 3rd Soil in their boat, they don’t have room for 4th

Jesus preached the parable of the sower as instruction to those who would begin sowing the Word of God to be aware of 4 responses represented by 4 types of soil that the seed lands on (Matthew 13.1-23, Mark 4.1-20, Luke 8.4-15). Jesus was looking for 4th soil, those who would bear fruit as the seed took hold in their lives and the would multiply, some 30, 60, 100 times. They were interested, they weren’t a flash in the pan, they weren’t distracted by the things of the world. One of the first tests to find this kind of soil was to tell parables and wait for a response. Some people thought it was nothing more than a 3rd-grade science lesson and paid little attention. But those who were spiritually hungry had the gumption to ask questions; “Jesus, what in the world are you talking about?” (Mark 4.10-12) Jesus made people itch and when they cared enough about their own spiritual condition to get it scratched, He knew they were close to the Kingdom of God! Jesus was telling his guys, (in so many words) “Follow my example. Look for the 4th soil. They will care enough to do whatever it takes to understand and follow Me.” He raised the bar in discipleship and expected His men to do the same. Are you raising the bar in discipleship? Are you asking people the tough questions? Are you using loving accountability to spur people on to love and good deeds? Believe it or not, the three thirds format will do the heavy lifting for you and help you find 4th Soil men and women if you stick to the script. And just so I’m not misunderstood by the shepherd or the prophet; Yes, it does take time for people to grow. And No, you should not vote people off the island because they don’t jump through your hoops. But hear this, if you spend all your time with people that are not serious about following Jesus as their King, you are in for a very disappointing ministry. More later on the boat 🙂