Tuesday, February 14, 2012
The
Parable of the Sower
We
find Jesus teaching by the lake (Galilee) again. A huge audience caused Jesus
to teach from a boat while the people sat on the shore. As Jesus surveyed the
crowd I believe he desperately wanted them to hear and obey the Word of God. He
wanted them to receive the power of God’s word with open minds and hearts.
Taking advantage of this agricultural backdrop he taught them a parable to
focus on this truth. He draws the
familiar image of a man walking in his field with a seed bag tied around his
waist. He is casting seed into his field – seed that should bear fruit. The seed was a proper and powerful symbol of
God’s Word springing into life. Every seed has the potential of life in
it. The sower of the seed is
Christ. He is the ultimate sower of God’s
word. But of course, we can sow seed as well.
The soil is the varying condition of human hearts and minds on which the
seed is tossed. Some falls on a hard heart or a closed mind. Some falls on a
shallow heart or a confused mind. Some falls on a divided heart or a cluttered
mind. And finally, some falls on a fruitful heart or a cultivated mind. I have come to believe that these are not
necessarily four people but one person, who at any given time can be
non-receptive to hearing and obeying the word of God. Sometimes I’m closed off
to God’s word or there are too many things going on in my life so I don’t hear
the word.
Sometimes he takes away the word eventually. Persecution comes and reveals that the word had no root in the person’s life. Satan also steals the word away eventually through prosperity. Desire for other things takes preference over the word of God and it chokes the word.
How can we combat these strategies to take away the word in our lives?
1) Prepare your heart. Take some time to humble yourself before God. Ask him to allow you to hear the word for what it is – the Word of God! In verse 20, Jesus says the good soil hears the word.
2) Accept the word. Welcome it, receive it. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking the word is for someone else – it’s for you!
3) Obey the word. We should know that the word of God heard and accepted will produce a crop of fruit in our lives. The sure sign that we are hearing and accepting the word of God is the fruit that it is bearing in our lives.
Jesus desperately wanted his audience to hear and receive the word of God. Is that your desire today?
Prayer: Lord, we know Satan tries to steal your word away from our minds. But I know that You can destroy the work of the devil and make God’s word powerful and fruitful in my life. I humbly hear and accept your word for me today. AMEN.
1 Again 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, multiplying thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times.”
9 Then Jesus said, “He who has ears to
hear, let him hear.”
10 When he was alone,
the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables. 11
He told them,
“The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the
outside everything is said in parables 12 so that,
“‘they may
be ever seeing but never perceiving,
and ever hearing but never understanding;
otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!’”
and ever hearing but never understanding;
otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!’”
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—thirty, sixty or even a hundred times what was sown.”
Jesus
lets us know that this is spiritual warfare. I want to focus on a sentence he
says in verse fifteen,”Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them.” We must battle against his evil
strategies!
Sometimes
Satan takes away the word immediately. We just close our mind off to the Word
of God. We don’t give it any attention. We ignore it. Satan works overtime to
keep people from paying attention to the word of God.Sometimes he takes away the word eventually. Persecution comes and reveals that the word had no root in the person’s life. Satan also steals the word away eventually through prosperity. Desire for other things takes preference over the word of God and it chokes the word.
How can we combat these strategies to take away the word in our lives?
1) Prepare your heart. Take some time to humble yourself before God. Ask him to allow you to hear the word for what it is – the Word of God! In verse 20, Jesus says the good soil hears the word.
2) Accept the word. Welcome it, receive it. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking the word is for someone else – it’s for you!
3) Obey the word. We should know that the word of God heard and accepted will produce a crop of fruit in our lives. The sure sign that we are hearing and accepting the word of God is the fruit that it is bearing in our lives.
Jesus desperately wanted his audience to hear and receive the word of God. Is that your desire today?
Prayer: Lord, we know Satan tries to steal your word away from our minds. But I know that You can destroy the work of the devil and make God’s word powerful and fruitful in my life. I humbly hear and accept your word for me today. AMEN.
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