The parable of the sower sheds
great light on what happens in churches when
individuals make public decisions to follow Jesus
Christ and then drop out of sight. Our situation is
not much different than in Jesus’ day when the
masses of people had rejected Him (Matthew
11:16-24).They could not
understand the deeper things about the kingdom of
God.However, the disciples
responded to His teaching and believed on Him.
It is at that point in His
ministry that Jesus began to teach using parables,
which are earthy stories with heavenly meanings.Jesus deliberately chose to withhold further
truth about Himself and the kingdom from the masses.When the crowds heard the parables, it seemed
to them little more than an interesting but
pointless story that taught no profound spiritual
truth.
On the other hand, the
disciples heard Jesus teaching the parables and
their powers of spiritual perception developed and
Jesus' teachings on the kingdom became clearer to
them.
In the parable of the sower,
Jesus explained that the seed is the gospel of the
kingdom, and the soil is the human heart (Matthew
13:3-23).“The kingdom of heaven”
comes with the preaching of the gospel of Jesus
Christ and the planting of His Word in the heart of
the listeners.The “seed” is
God’s Word, and the “soil” represents different
kinds of hearers and the response of their hearts to
the Word (Romans 10:17; Matt. 13:9; Mark 4:24; Luke
8:18).
The parable tells us that there
are some listeners whose hearts are hard as a stone.They will not hear.Their
hearts are like a packed down road. “When anyone
hears the word of the kingdom and does not
understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away
what has been sown in his heart. This is the one on
whom seed was sown beside the road” (Matthew 13:19).Sin hardens the heart until it is like
concrete.
Jesus came preaching God’s
sovereign rule in the minds and hearts of men, and
they refused to listen to His message and surrender
their wills to Him. They do not want God being the
boss of their lives.
God says that if we are
willing, He will remove from our heart of stone and
give us a heart of flesh."I will
put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My
statutes, and you will be careful to observe My
ordinances" (Ezekiel 36:27).
What is the condition of my
heart?Is it as hard as a rock,
or is it soft and pliable as tissue?How tragic when we persist in our stubborn
rejection of God’s offerings of grace.
Jesus also said that some
hearts are shallow like soil where, “The seed was
sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears
the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet
he has no firm root in himself, but is only
temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises
because of the word, immediately he falls away”
(Matthew 13:20-21).
These shallow hearts are
attracted by the excitement and emotions. They make
a profession of faith publicly, but almost as
suddenly as they professed they quickly become
apostate.They were never born
spiritually.No spiritual
regeneration has taken place in their hearts.Just joining the church or being baptized
does not make you born again.
There are other listeners who
are choked to death by worries of the world (vv. 7,
22).“Others fell among the
thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them out”
(Matthew 13:7).
"And the one on whom seed was
sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the
word, and the worry of the world and the
deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it
becomes unfruitful" (Matthew 13:22).
Materialism and humanism is our
secular lifestyle, and it chokes us to spiritual
death. This kind of spiritual death does not rush
upon a person suddenly but gradually. Spiritual
weeds grow slowly, but they in time strangle the
budding spiritual life that is there. When the Holy
Spirit speaks, there is always the reply, “Some
other day, some other time; don’t bother me now.”The life of spiritual ease takes over and
“the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of
riches choke the Word, and it becomes unfruitful.And according to the world philosophy, “The
person with the most toys wins,” but he dies
spiritually.So “What shall it
profit a man if he gains the world but loses His
soul?”
Stony, shallow, strangled, or
spiritual—which describes the soil of your heart?
"And others fell on the good
soil and yielded a crop, some a hundredfold, some
sixty, and some thirty" (Matthew 13:8). What made
the difference?Jesus said, “good
ground” (v.23).It is the “good
ground” that “hears the Word and understands it” and
“bears fruit” (v.23).These are
the ones who are born again.
Just as important as the soil
is the fruit.Am I bearing
kingdom fruit? (Cf. Matt. 7:16; Rom. 6:22; Gal.
5:22-23; Col. 1:10; Rom. 1:13). When there is saving
faith in the heart there will always be fruit in the
life.
Wil is a graduate of William
Carey University, B. A.; New Orleans Baptist
Theological Seminary, Th. M.; and Azusa Pacific
University, M. A. He has pastored in Panama, Ecuador
and the U. S, and served for over 20 years as
missionary in Ecuador and Honduras. He had a daily
expository Bible teaching ministry head in over 100
countries from 1972-2005. He continues to seek
opportunities to be personally involved in world
missions. Wil and his wife Ann have three grown
daughters. He currently serves as a Baptist pastor
and teaches seminary extension courses in Ecuador.
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word studies for sermon preparation, messages,
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Reports on what God is doing through Bible
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and Ecuador. Jesus said, "If you abide in
Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever
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(John 15:7).