The Sower

What type of soil makes up your heart? Rocky? Soft?

Welcome to the latest edition of my Blog!

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. The goal of my blogs is to give you, the reader, a quick dose of the Word of God and an inspiration to research more on your own. May God open your heart so that the Holy Spirit make the Bible alive in you and show you the Savior, Jesus Christ!

Parable of The Sower

A good Christian friend of mine was talking to me the other day and was very worried. He was concerned that pastors in our city churches may not be teaching the congregations correctly. He pointed out the fact that some of the friends he knows used to go to church and now they don’t. He also pointed out the fact that most people that continue in the church act the same way, talk the same way, as when they first came into the church. There is no change in them. And if some change, it is only for a little while. To some, the church is like a club, a place to get a good word, to lift our spirits, hear what we want to hear, and nothing more. We want to feel better when we come out, compared to when we came in.

But, is this what Christianity is about?

Is it all about feelings?

We sat down and did some research on this topic. We discovered that the problem was not all on the pastors, nor the message. Most of the problems laid on the target of the message. Let us take a look at what Jesus Christ had to say about this topic. In the book of Matthew, the thirteen chapter, Jesus begins to give the disciples the parable of the sower:

“Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying: “Behold, a sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them. Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth. But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them. But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”” Matthew 13:3 NKJV

Parable Explained

The disciples asked Jesus why He spoke to the multitudes in parables. Jesus explained that because of the hard hearts of many, they will hear and not understand, see, and not perceive.

“And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says:
‘Hearing you will hear and shall not understand,
And seeing you will see and not perceive;
For the hearts of this people have grown dull.
Their ears are hard of hearing,
And their eyes they have closed,
Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears,
Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn,
So that I should heal them.’”Matthew 13: 14-15 NKJV

Notice the last part? Turn, and He will heal us. In military terms, an encrypted code requires a key to decipher the whole message. Jesus Christ is that KEY. If you trust Him as your Lord and Savior, He will explain the Bible to you through the Holy Spirit.

Then Jesus explained the parable to the disciples:

“Therefore hear the parable of the sower: When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside. But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles. Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful. But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.” Matthew 13:18-23

There are four reactions to the sower mentioned in the explanation above.

Those that do not understand the message. The message hits the ears, enters the brain, but never makes it to the heart because the hearer does not know how to apply the instruction, does not understand, and is not willing to understand. The wicked one, the devil, fills the void in the hearer’s mind with other stuff that is more interesting.
Those without roots. The message is received gladly, the hearer goes away with joy. Once the testing comes, the hearer cannot endure. The seed fell on stony ground and did not cleave to the heart of the hearer. It did not grow roots.
Those with thorns among the roses. These hearers accept the message, but, the worries of this world, money matters, and the desires for fame and pleasure, choke the message, the value of the message plunges.
Those on good ground. The hearers receive the message, understand it or seek understanding, roots grow in their hearts, and become fruitful. In other words, become full of life and bring forth fruit.

What is my type of ground?

The Lord Jesus Christ is identified as the sower in this parable. The seed is the Word of God. The ground is the heart of the hearer of the Word of God. Our Lord is trying to tell us that we need to examine our hearts, evaluate the composition of said heart, and when a problem is identified, ask Him for heart surgery. He and He alone can give us a new heart, a heart of flesh, not of stone.

THOSE THAT DO NOT UNDERSTAND

Do I fall into this category? When someone talks to me about the Bible, do I put up a wall and say the Bible is hard to understand, and use that as an excuse to do what I please and reject the Lord?

When we buy a new toy, a new automobile, and other material things, don’t we study to learn how it operates? We go to sleep with the manual in our hands. Why? Because we want to know everything about it to enjoy the experience.

When we meet a new love, don’t we want to know everything about that person? We want to spend time with a new love. We want to know what makes them tick. They become valuable to us. How valuable is our creator to us? How much time and effort are we willing to give Him? Show me how you spend your time, and I will show you where your heart is!

THOSE WITHOUT ROOTS, STONY GROUND

In Mark 14:66-72 NKJV we read that Peter denied the Lord 3 times before the rooster crowed? All was well when Jesus was performing miracles. But, when Jesus was arrested, punished, and sentenced to die, Peter denied he knew Jesus because he was afraid of getting arrested and crucified like Jesus. What about us? We hear in church that God loves a person with integrity. We go to work on Monday and our boss asks us to falsify a report to get more money for the quarter. We fear to lose our job so we lie instead of sticking to the Word of God. The seed planted did not grow roots and was burned by heat, our trials.

THOSE AMONG THE THORNS

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:19-21 NKJV

Have you ever had these thoughts?

I cannot give time to the church and God, I am too busy at work and my career will suffer.
Co-workers may not want to hang out with me if they find out I became a Christian.
My family will not talk to me if I become a Christian, our religion is so important.
I cannot contribute to the church, I need all my money to pay bills and buy stuff

The cares of this world will choke the seed planted in us. Where is our treasure, my friend? What is more important to us today? Is it our fleeting pleasures and good feelings? Or, an eternity with our Creator?

Everything visible to us will soon pass away. Let us examine our hearts and see where our treasure is.

THOSE WITH GOOD GROUND

Every good ground did not just appear out of mid-air. In farming, it takes hard work in our parts to til the soil, plants the seed, and water it. Then we will reap a good harvest and enjoy the fruits of our labor.

The good ground in this parable is the person that receives the Word of God and meditates on it constantly. This person removes the weeds and tares from the ground, so the seed will not have competition for nutrients. This person prays to God for the gift of the Holy Spirit, the living water, to make the seed grow in our hearts and become fruitful.

CONCLUSION

Jesus wants to give us the good ground in which the seed of His Word will grow and become fruitful. No matter the type of heart we may have now, He can give us a new heart if we let Him and trust Him.

“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30 NKJV

Abba, Father!

You are the God who counts the hair in our heads. A sparrow does not die without you knowing about it. Yet, we live in disregard of your guidance and your Word. We think we know better. Father helps us, give us a new heart, place your Holy Spirit in it so we can hear your Word, understand it, turn, and be healed by you. Increase our faith oh Lord!

In the name and authority of Jesus Christ, we pray!

Amen

To God be the glory!

Everything was created By Him, For Him!

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. 2 Corinthians 13:14

Disclaimer

I write this blog as I get inspired by God. Consider this writing as a Bible study. Like the Bereans In Acts 17:11, search the Scriptures to find out whether what I write is so. Always consult with your church ministers about biblical matters. I am also not a professional writer, so there may be some grammar or spelling errors. I try my best to write as efficiently as possible. Your brother, In-Christ, Ricardo