Jesus spoke in parables
(Mt 13:34-35)
34All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables, and He did not speak to them without a parable. 35This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:
“I WILL OPEN MY MOUTH IN PARABLES;
I WILL UTTER THINGS HIDDEN SINCE THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD.”
Parable of Seed & Sower
Matthew 13:1-23
We see in this parable one of the fundamental truths of the kingdom.
God’s word is a seed; Our hearts are the soil into which that seed is sown.
Our hearts are ground for seed. There is great competition for the soil of our hearts and many seeds that get planted there. Many not from God!!
What grows there determines our future. What grows there determines the harvest you will reap in your life. What grows there determines what you will achieve on this earth. What grows there will determine our reward in heaven. One thing to notice. The seed is the same; the soil is the difference! The soil is our responsibility.
God continually pour forth His word onto the earth (Isaiah 55) and into our hearts. Not just a word for salvation but for other kingdom truths as well.
We cannot afford to become a religious organisation attempting to function by a list of moral standards, or only by a set of principles. We cannot reduce the gospel to something we can control. All that we have to offer to the world around us comes from our connection with God. If that connection is not functioning we can only offer our own strengths and capabilities. They are a poor substitute for Jesus. Through our connection with God comes rivers of living water and life will flow to the world around us if we stay connected to Jesus.
Where did the church global lose the book of acts cutting edge??
After about 5th century AD church was where!
The disciples ask about the parable and Jesus says. (Mark 4:13) Don’t you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable? The parable of the sower reveals some interesting things 1. The seed is carried in words 2. The soil is our hearts 3. The seed can be taken away without being planted 4. The seed can be received ‘lightly’ with ‘shallow’ effect 5. The seed can be received but so can other seeds and they compete 6. The seed grows over time and produces a harvest of …. 7. the same seed
- When we hear words they are seeds that enter our hearts.
- Hearts are fertile ground for seed
- Jesus said be careful how you hear.
- We can acknowledge truth but there are ‘systems’, ‘beliefs’ in our lives that don’t allow the truth we hear to change us totally. These ‘rocks’ or strongholds are resistant to the seed.
- The heart is a fertile ground where all kinds of things will grow. Seeds that God doesn’t plant can grow there.
- The seed becomes a fruit bearing plant. (Mark4:30-32) We need to keep the seed covered and watered.
- We are to produce fruit of the same kind as the seed. An apple seed produces apple trees. Words produce within us; they shape the way we perceive life, ourselves, God.
How important are the words of a parent, a grandparent, a friend. Children are very open to receive. They are the ultimate fertile ground. (Prov22:6) “Train a child in the way they should go, and when they are older they will not depart from it”. The best time for someone to learn a new language is when they are young, about 4-9 yrs old.
We can become resistant to truth because our ground is full of plants that have grown from other seed. Jesus said (Mt18:2-4) in order to enter the kingdom of heaven we had to become as a little child. He meant that we need to be receptive and open to the truth He brings in the words He speaks.
I heard something on the TV that captured my attention. A pregnant woman had been told by a doctor that the child she was carrying had Edwards syndrome, a very rare illness. He recommended that she should have the child killed because it would have no quality of life. She chose to keep the child and when it was born the child was healthy but she struggled to believe it. In an interview after the event she said, quote, “The doctor put a seed in my mind that the child would have Edwards syndrome” and she struggled to accept the fact that it was healthy. The truth in her words rang out.
How else does it affect us
Mark 9:14-29
Boy with demon
If you can – must be the smallest level of faith
“help my unbelief” is a cry only spoken by a person who already has belief.
Faith Comes
Romans 10:17
Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word (Rhema) of Christ
Not saying Faith comes by the Word of God. There is a two stage process.
Hearing comes from leaning in to the Lord to hear his voice illuminate the word.
Faith the size of a mustard seed can move a mountain. It doesn’t take much faith to do miracles but it does take a clear field without competing seeds.
Seed in Good Ground Harvest 100
Seed in Good Ground Harvest 60
Seed in Good Ground Harvest 30
Seed in Weedy Ground
Seed in Rocky Ground
Seed Rejected
(Pr 2:1-6)
1My son, if you will receive my words
And treasure my commandments within you,
2Make your ear attentive to wisdom,
Incline your heart to understanding;
3For if you cry for discernment,
Lift your voice for understanding;
4If you seek her as silver
And search for her as for hidden treasures;
5Then you will discern the fear of the LORD
And discover the knowledge of God.
6For the LORD gives wisdom;
From His mouth come knowledge and understanding.
(Pr 4:20-23)
20My son, give attention to my words;
Incline your ear to my sayings.
21Do not let them depart from your sight;
Keep them in the midst of your heart.
22For they are life to those who find them
And health to all their body.
23Watch over your heart with all diligence,
For from it flow the springs of life.