The Parable of the sower, is a very familiar portion of scripture. It can be very tempting to think to yourself, "I’ve heard this story, hundreds of times before, and there is nothing new here for me." Because we think that we know this story so well, we can close our ears to what the Lord wants to say to us. In fact, that is the point of the parable.
Right after Jesus told the parable, verse 8 tells us that Jesus called out, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear." It is also very revealing that right after Jesus told his disciples the meaning of the parable, he says in verse 18, "Therefore, consider carefully how you listen. Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has will be taken from him." How we listen and respond to God, as he speaks to us, will determine the amount of growth and spiritual fruit we will have. Another way to say it is this, the condition of your heart will determine what God’s Word can do in your life.
For the longest time, I thought that this parable was all about how someone responds to the saving message of the gospel. This story is not just about hearing the salvation message. God’s Word comes to us many times, and the condition of our heart will determine what happens to that Word.
At any time, our heart can take on one of the four characteristics Jesus talks about in this parable. Because life is hard and unfair, we can respond to life from a carnal mind-set and become, hard hearted. When other people attack you, malign you, abuse you, gossip about you, slander you, or hurt you, the natural response is to protect yourself. You will either rise up and lash back, recoil and put up a wall to shield yourself from continued attack or you will run in order to escape. Whether you rise up, recoil or run, you will have a tendency to hold on to the hurt and play back in your mind the scenes of attack and hear over and over again the hurtful words that were spoken. As you harbor those images and words, if you do not allow God to bring you healing and help, you can become hardened by bitterness. Through unforgiveness and resentment, you can become so hard that your heart is unresponsive to God’s Word and your life never changes.
Jesus wants more than just for us to understand the gospel. Jesus wants that gospel to change our hearts and to bear good fruit. There are some difficulties that must be overcome in order for the word of God to have this kind of effect in our hearts, but our lack of intelligence is not one of them. You don’t have to be smart for the word of God to bear fruit in you. It is not an academic subject. Jesus tells us in this parable three things that we must be careful about. The first is the enemy who would come and steal the word of God away from us. Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts. Romans tells us that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. (Romans 10:17)
The most sure way to grow in faith is by the Word of God. Back in Jesus’ day not everyone could read, so He makes it easy, even hearing is enough, but the danger is that the enemy will come and steal it out of our hearts lest we should benefit from it. So the Bible tells us to hide them in our hearts. If you knew that a thief was breaking into houses around your neighborhood, what would you do? You would probably think about hiding some of your valuables. You might spend an hour or two making sure that even if the thief did break in, he would not get those things that are really important to you. We need to do this with God’s word as well. Let me give you a practical thing to do. If you hear a verse during the sermon that touches your heart, pick up your pen, right away, and jot it down on the bulletin. Then when you get home write it down again and hang it up in a place where you will see it often.
Another condition of the heart can be like the stony ground. Here the Word comes to the person but it does not have a lasting impact for there is no root that goes deep into their heart. This is the person that comes to church looking for an emotional lift. They hear the Word of God and they accept it with joy, but they don’t do anything more with it after they leave the sanctuary. Jesus says, "They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away."(v.13) So many times I talk to people who are struggling with a decision or situations in their life and they complain that their faith seems dry. They say that church is no longer meeting their needs and they feel empty. Every time I ask the same question, "Are you reading your Bible?" Not once, have I ever had someone answer "Yes." If you are only fed or expect to be fed only on Sunday mornings, you will starve spiritually. You cannot feed your sinful nature six days a week and expect to hear from God and receive all you need from a 35 minute sermon. You might feel emotionally uplifted for awhile because God’s Word is good every time you hear it, but you cannot live without getting rooted. You cannot have only head knowledge and emotional lifts, you must have a heart that is fertile and deep. Not shallow and rocky under the surface.
What do you know about weeds you pick out of your yard. They come back if you don’t get the root don’t they. We need to build better roots, hiding God’s Word in our hearts. I have seen many people who talk like Christians, act like Christians, sing like Christians, but when all of these things are plucked away, there is nothing left. What would your Christian life be like if suddenly you were unable to come to church, unable to meet with Christian friends, unable to listen to or read Christian music and books. This has happened to many Christians in times of persecution.
The third type of heart is the thorny heart. "The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature."(v. 14) This kind of heart is distracted and anxious. Instead of having their mind and heart devoted to pleasing God and pursuing righteousness, they are divided. Remember that Satan’s battle cry is, "Divide and conquer." A divided mind and heart will always prevent God’s Word from producing a bumper crop in your life. You need to ask yourself, "What is it that I’m really living for? Am I living for myself or for God? Am I in control or is God? Will I strive to meet my own needs or will I let God take control? Do I really trust God or my credit cards when trouble comes?" If our focus is on worldly wisdom, earthy pleasures and personal ambitions, then our heart is full of thorns and we will allow God’s word to be choked out.
There is a battle taking place in my seemingly peaceful yard. The clover and dandelions are competing with the grass stems for resources and the weeds are winning. For a plant to grow it needs sunlight. It is not enough to have the seed hidden in the ground, not enough to grow a root down into the soil, for the plant to put forth leaves and bud and eventually bring forth new seeds of its own, it must find a way of collecting energy from the sun. This is a must for us as well. We do not just memorize verses, anchoring ourselves to a few famous passages of scripture. We must also open ourselves to the life-giving rays or our sun, Jesus Christ. We get the energy, the power to bring forth fruit from Jesus, alive in our hearts. Without Jesus we look at the Bible and it is difficult enough to comprehend, let alone use it to shape our lives. But as we pray and walk daily with Christ, we find that our faith begins to grow.
The weeds that compete in our hearts with Christ are cares, riches and pleasures of life. Now do not think that you can rid your garden of them completely.
We are stuck in this life, cares and riches and pleasures are all a part of it. But what we must realize is that the competition is for time. If you allow these things to choke out your quality "sunlight" time, you will lose the battle. If when you look up, all you see are the cares and troubles you are facing overshadowing you, you are being choked out. If when you look up all you can see is your dream of future wealth, or future happiness, you are also being choked out and you won’t be able to bear any good fruit in the future. Learn to make spending time with Jesus your priority. He will guide you and strengthen you in the Word. And let’s not forget that Jesus calls this kind of living immature. The seed of God’s Word will not mature in us, unless we weed out the bad stuff that takes His place, and the good stuff too.
The fourth kind of heart is the noble and good heart. "But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it and by persevering produce a crop."(V.15) The person with a good heart, hears the word, applies it to their life and then receives a harvest of spiritual fruit. The heart that is like good soil is fertile ground for God to use. God wants to see His Word produce fruit in our lives. God wants to produce change and he desires to make your life fruitful and Christlike, but it all depends on the condition of your heart. Every time God’s Word comes to you, either in church, through reading, on the radio or TV, in prayer or by some other means, as scripture reaches you, the condition of your heart will dictate how you will respond.
Now here is the key to making your heart “good soil”. Do not try to master everything. Don’t think that once you really understand the Bible then you can be a good Christian. Don’t wait to understand everything. Start doing what you already "have". Maybe the only thing you really understand down deep about Christianity right now is that God loves you. That’s great! major in God’s love, rejoice in that love, thank Him for it, tell your friends about God’s love. Don’t be shy. Of course you don’t know everything yet, but then neither does anyone else! Jesus said, "No one, when he has lit a lamp, covers it with a vessel or puts it under a bed, but sets it on a lampstand, that those who enter may see the light." The Word of God is like a light, it shines into the dark places of our lives and we start to see God’s truth. It is not meant to be filed away for future reference. If you "have" God’s truth burning in your heart then let it shine in your life, and Jesus says that "more will be given" to you.
Since God wants us to have a heart that is good soil for him to use, how can we cultivate a ready, rich heart of soil? In other words, how can we have a good heart for God to plant His Word in?
1. PLOW
The first thing to do in getting our heart ready, is to turn it over. How? Repent of any known sin. It is no mistake that the word repent means, "to turn." Repentance means to turn away from sin and pursue righteousness. To repent means that you make a 180 degree change in your direction. You don’t say that you are sorry and you will try to do better, you confess that you have sinned and you need God’s forgiveness and grace. In order to cultivate a heart that is noble and good, you need to plow up your heart and mind and turn control over to God. Ask God to break up the hard rocky surface of your heart and turn over the bitterness and unforgiveness that has made you unproductive and useless in the past.
2. PREPARE
The second step is to fertilize the soil. Spend time in God’s Word so that the life-giving truth of scripture can soak deep into your heart. Meditate, as God told Joshua to do in Joshua 1:8&9. Meditate day and night so that the truth will saturate past your mind and flow into your heart. Allow the Bible to fill your heart and mind so that it permeates your thoughts and conversations. As you do this, you are literally washing away the negative, deadly ingredients that result in doubt, fear and defeat and they are replaced with faith, confidence and victory. It is just like washing soap from a milk jug. The only way to get all the soap out, is to allow fresh water to run continuously into the top until the soap is gone. Meditating on scripture is just like that.
3. PLANT
The third step is to sow God’s Word into the situations of your life. We are commanded to not be hearers only of God’s Word, but a doer as well. If we want a harvest to take place, we must apply the truth of the Bible into our lives and do what it says. Remember, we will receive that which we have sown. Galatians 6:7-9 instructs us, "Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."
Apply God’s Word to the things you face everyday. Look for what the Bible says about your situation and then follow the principals of scripture. In other words, put your faith into practice and live what scripture teaches. Don’t just say you believe it, live it. I love what Paul Harvey said, "If you don’t live it, you don’t believe it."
4. PROTECT
The fourth step is to weed the garden of your heart. Guard your heart from the thorns of anxiety, worry and the cares of the world. As Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount, "Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all other things will be added unto you." Don’t allow weeds of evil to grow, but remove them from your heart and life. Be careful what you watch, listen to and read. Protect your heart and your relationship with God. Keep the standard of holiness and purity always before you. With your eyes on God and your trust in Him, live to please and love him with all your heart, soul, mind and strength.
If we will plow, prepare, plant and protect our hearts, we will be ready soil that is good for God to use. And with good soil that is daily cultivated and ready to receive His Word, a harvest will be produced.
The Master is in the garden today, and I have one question: How’s your soil?
