Everybody, including me, thinks they know exactly who they are. People believe they have themselves all figured out. But, every once in a while, something happens revealing a side of yourself that you did not know existed before.
This helps keep psychologists in business.
The other side is, we think we have everybody else figured out. Our best friend, we think we know them pretty well. Then, they do something that is “out of character,” at least the character we know.
Wives think they know their husbands.
Husbands know they do not know their wives and so they do not even try.
Parents believe they know their children, after all, they knew them since they were born. But there are parts and sides of kids that parents do not know. The child gets in trouble and the first thing a parent says is, “My child would never do that.”
Of course, there is plenty of evidence to the contrary.
The more you think you know yourself or somebody else the more vulnerable you will be to deception.
If I am really to know myself, I need to have a Kingdom view. That is, how God views me. If I understand this, it will open up a door of understanding my relationship with God.
This Parable of the Sower is fundamental in understanding the kingdom view of people. Now the key to this is in verse 10.
“To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God, but for others they are in parables, so that seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.”
First what this is not saying.
It is not saying that God speaks in riddles so that people will not understand what He is saying. This would be out of character with God who “is not willing that any should perish.”
This is spiritual truth and can only be understood from a spiritual point of view. The natural man cannot perceive nor understand spiritual things. Jesus is laying down truth that can only be understood from a spiritual perspective. When anybody tries to understand spiritual truth from a natural viewpoint, there is nothing but confusion. “God is not the author of confusion.”
This is the tactic of the enemy.
There are two things that I want to lay before you now.
1. The kingdom purpose of God’s Word.
2. The kingdom effect of God’s Word.
These two things are important if we are going to understand the kingdom perspective for us. What does God think of us and how does He view us?
This will go a long way in understanding the total scheme of God’s will and way for us.
I. The Kingdom Purpose of God’s Word.
This is where we must begin.
Jesus explains it in verse 11. “Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.”
What is being stressed here is the significance of God’s Word. This is emphasized throughout the Scripture.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1).
“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the word of life” (1 John 1:1).
“God, who at sundry times and in diverse manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his son, whom he has appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds” (Hebrews 1:1).
Of course, this is only a small sampling of what the Bible has to say about the Word.
The thing that Jesus uses in this parable is that the “seed” is the Word of God. Now, why does He use this?
He uses this to show the purpose of the Word of God. Unless we understand the purpose here, we will not be able to understand what this whole parable is about. Nor will we understand the ultimate purpose of God in our life. And what we want to pursue is the kingdom purpose of our life.
A. The purpose of the Word of God is to replicate in me Christ.
The apostle Paul said it well when he said, “To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus” (Colossians 1:27-28).
There is something in the seed that responds to something in the soil. There is something in Christ that responds to something in us.
The purpose of the seed going into the soil is to replicate the seed through the soil. The purpose of Christ’s Word coming into my heart and life is to replicate Jesus Christ in my life.
It is the Christ life that we are talking about.
B. The power of the Word of God is to transform me.
God desires to transform me… From… To.
The transforming power of the Word of God, by the Holy Spirit, is to take us from where we are to where He wants us to be. The place in us where He will be glorified and honored through us.
It is important to remember that God is not interested in making you a better person. That is the boast of religion. Anybody who is trying to make you a better person falls short of God’s expectation of your life. God has much more in mind for us. The world can offer us so much, but it all falls short of what God has in mind for us.
The word of God has power and that power is dedicated to fulfilling in my life the supreme purposes of God. God is preparing me for Himself.
“Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for thou has created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created” (Revelation 4:11).
The purpose of all creation is to pleasure God.
The supreme purpose of my life is to pleasure God and it is through the transforming power of God’s Word that that takes place.
II. The Kingdom Effect of God’s Word.
God’s Word has a Kingdom effect on everybody. To understand this effect is to understand some of the things happening in my life. Nothing in my life is purposeless. If I understand that purpose, I begin to understand the things happening around me.
Jesus describes four kinds of people and the effect of God’s Word upon them.
1. “along the path”
[5] “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the air devoured it.
[12] The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved.
This is the hardest group for the Word of God to penetrate.
The birds referred to here are a symbol of demonic power. The devil’s power and influence are used to keep people away from the Word of God.
Have you ever wondered why those who do not think the Bible is anything spend so much time trying to prove it is not anything? If they really did not believe it was the Word of God, why do they spend so much time attacking it?
Simply because the devil knows how powerful the Word is and how it can affect people.
Whatever it takes for the devil to keep the word of God from people he will do it. We are seeing this happening in our country today. The devil is successfully getting the Word of God out of our public school system.
Because the word of God will transform people into the image of God which is in complete opposition to the devil and his agenda.
These people are in the devil’s territory, under his influence.
2. “on the rock”
[6] And some fell on the rock, and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture.
[13] And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of testing fall away.
These people do not object to God’s Word and the gospel. They receive it gladly and with joy.
When you are first starting a church these are the first ones that you win and you think that you have a great move of God in your midst. There is excitement but it does not last for long.
The problem is they have “no root.” That is, there is no real depth to their commitment to the gospel. They do not object to the gospel, but they will not allow the Word of God to inconvenience them in any way.
They believe the gospel should make them better people and really misunderstand the purpose of God’s Word in their life.
They believe for a season but they soon fall away.
3. “among the thorns”
[7] And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it.
[14] And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature.
Here is a tragic group of people.
“The thorns” represents “the cares and riches and pleasures of life.”
Because of the thorns in their life, they are easily distracted away from the church.
If I may say so, this is the curse of the church today. The carnal Christian.
They want to believe the gospel. They want to become Christians and think they are. Who am I to argue with them? But the truth of the matter is they allow the things of this world to have a priority in their life to such an extent that they are pulled away from the things of God.
They once were very active in the church. Now the things of the world have become very important to them.
Their fruit does not mature and therefore is good for nothing. A life wasted. What a tragedy.
4. “the good soil”
[8] And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded a hundredfold.”
[15] As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience.
Here is the good soil. They hear the Word, but the difference is they obey the Word of God.
Their obedience is to the point of bearing fruit.
“Ye shall know them by their fruits” (Matthew 7:16).
The life of Christ is replicated on a daily basis in these people. This is the heartbeat of the Christian church.
Conclusion…
Which of these four groups of people describe you?
Groups one and two are deftly not Christians.
The difference between the third group of people and the last one is obedience. Obedience is the primary ingredient needed to allow God’s Word to fulfill its purpose in my life and have the effect that God desires in my life.
I am what I am today because of my obedience or disobedience.
Each day as I find opportunities to exercise obedience I am becoming more and more like Christ.
“Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:5).
The great joy of my life is discovering who I am in Jesus Christ. God’s great joy is exploiting His grace in the circumstances of my life.
