What Is The Condition Of Your Soil?

Introduction

• How many of us want a harvest from God’s Word?

• How many of us want to be blessed with all the promises of God?

• In order to receive a harvest from God’s Word, we must become like a sower and plant the Word in the soil of our heart.

• We must be doers of His Word. We have to plant the Word by reading and meditating on a constant basis.

• We have to keep it before your eyes, in your ears and coming out of your mouth continually.

• By planting the Word in our heart, it will produce roots and make us a person of depth who can withstand the storms of life.

• Let us look to the some scriptures this morning and check the condition of our soil.

A. The harvest you receive is based on the condition of the soil.

(NKJV) Mark 4 1 And again He began to teach by the sea. And a great multitude was gathered to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat in it on the sea; and the whole multitude was on the land facing the sea. 2 Then He taught them many things by parables, and said to them in His teaching: 3 “Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. 4 And it happened, as he sowed, that some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds of the air came and devoured it. 5 Some fell on stony ground, where it did not have much earth; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of earth. 6 But when the sun was up it was scorched, and because it had no root it withered away. 7 And some seed fell among thorns; and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no crop. 8 But other seed fell on good ground and yielded a crop that sprang up, increased and produced: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.” 9 And He said to them, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” 10 But when He was alone, those around Him with the twelve asked Him about the parable. 11 And He said to them, “To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; but to those who are outside, all things come in parables, 12 so that ‘ Seeing they may see and not perceive, And hearing they may hear and not understand; Lest they should turn, And their sins be forgiven them.’”

13 And He said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? 14 The sower sows the word. 15 And these are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown. When they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts. 16 These likewise are the ones sown on stony ground who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with gladness; 17 and they have no root in themselves, and so endure only for a time. Afterward, when tribulation or persecution arises for the word’s sake, immediately they stumble. 18 Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word, 19 and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. 20 But these are the ones sown on good ground, those who hear the word, accept it, and bear fruit: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.”

1. The "soil" of our heart will determine whether we receive a harvest from the seed of God’s Word that we sow.

2. There are four types of soil:

a. Wayside soil

i. The Word says that the fowls of the air devoured the seed sown on wayside ground.

ii. This type of soil represents the person who hears the Word, but Satan immediately comes and steals what was sown in their heart.

b. Stony soil

i. The harvest did not come because this soil had no depth, and the seed could not take root. As a result, the sun scorched the seed and it withered away.

ii. This type of soil represents the person who hears the Word and immediately receives it with gladness, but because they have no spiritual depth, they are offended when persecution or affliction comes.

c. Thorny soil

i. The seed sown on this soil was choked by the thorns that grew up.

ii. This type of soil represents the person who hears the Word, but the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the lust for other things enters in, chokes the Word and causes it to become unfruitful in their lives.