The Parable of the Sower
The Parable of the Sower
Jesus began to teach by the lake. The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it out on the lake, while all the people were along the shore at the water’s edge. 2 He taught them many things by parables, and in his teaching said: 3 “Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times.” ….
13 Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable? 14 The farmer sows the word. 15 Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. 16 Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. 17 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 18 Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; 19 but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. 20 Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown.”
Mark 4:1-20
Jesus
compared different kinds of soil to the condition of our hearts when we hear
the Word of God. The spiritual soil needs to be properly prepared if we are
going to produce a good crop of spiritual fruit in our lives.
The first kind of soil is hard.
The seed just lays on the ground and the birds come and eat it. This kind of soil
is like the person who wants nothing to do with God and shuts his ears to
anything to do with the Bible or church. What makes people have hard hearts?
Many things. Hardships in life that they blame on God. Sometimes religious
people are judgmental and hypocritical and people end up turning their backs on
God. Sometimes people are proud and think they know better than God. Maybe you
are in this group. You came here to get a meal and just want this message to be
over as soon as possible so you can eat. I hope you will soften your heart and
listen for a few minutes because what I am about to tell you can be very helpful if you will take the time and listen.
The second kind of soil is rocky.
The thin layer of soil with large rock underneath. When seeds fall on this kind of
soil they start to grow almost right away, but then the sun comes out and dries
up the plants and they wither and die. This kind of soil is like people who
hear the word of God and get all excited. But later the hard times come in
their lives and they give up. Don’t think you can win spiritual battles in your
life by only hearing God’s word occasionally. You need to study. Meditate. Put
it into practice. Just like we need to eat every day, we also need to feed on
God’s word daily. Let your roots grow deep. Then when hard times come, you will
be strong.
The third kind of soil is thorny.
Seeds started to grow. But then the weeds and thorns started to grow up
and choke out the poor little plant and it died. Jesus compared this soil to
people who, again, got all excited about the message they heard from the Word
of God. But then they started to worry about money, how to take care of the
kids, how to get their work done, and all kinds of other worries. All the joy of
the time with God was gone. The word of God made no impact on them. Jesus talks
about the thorns being like the “cares of this world and the deceitfulness of
riches.” You know there is a lot of deceit, and lying, about money. Buy this
lottery ticket and all your problems will go away. So, people spend their last
dollar on a lottery ticket and end up going hungry. We need to clear out all the
worries and cares and trust in God to supply all our needs if we are going to
grow spiritually and bear fruit.
The last kind of soil is good soil.
Deep rich topsoil. All the clods broken up, the stones removed, the weeds
pulled out. Now the garden starts to grow, corn, tomatoes, pumpkins, cabbages, and all kinds of delicious foods. This is what God wants in your lives. The fruit
of the Spirit: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” Galatians 5:22-23
Love: Care about other people and take
action to do those things that are best for them. Consider others more
important than ourselves. Golden Rule: "Do to others what you want them to do to
you".
Joy: God wants you to be full of joy,
regardless of circumstances. The joy of the Lord is your strength. God gave me
a wonderful wife who is full of joy. Such a blessing to me.
Peace: Sense of contentment no matter
what. Still river. Beautiful sunset. Just a feeling of calm. That can be yours
if you break up the hard soil in your heart and get rid of the stones and
weeds.
Patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
gentleness and self-control.
Prayer: Dear Lord please prepare the soil
of our lives so we can bear good fruit.
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