THE SOWER AND THE SEEDS… AND THE SOIL!

10-27-24

The Sower and the Seeds…and the SOIL!

Matt 13, Mark 4 & Luke 8

1 – What did Jesus actually say?

• He told a parable…a . 

Parables: 

• Cause you to listen & ponder (rattle around in your squirrel cage)
• Easy to & discuss

This parable involved:

• Farmer… Anyone who “ God’s Word”
• Seed…ONE kind of seed (all 4 soils got a GOOD SEED)

• His Field…The area of influence the Farmer has… THEY go.
• Soil…the which are TO “God’s Word”. 4 distinct “kinds”.
• Result…what ends up happening to “God’s Word” that person’s life.

2 – What was the CONTEXT in which Jesus was telling this parable?

• Where is he?
  • The Cove of the Sower, also known as the Bay of
• When is this?
  • probably around time.
  • his Sermon on the Mount
• To Whom is he speaking?
  • primarily Jews
  • many farmers
  • religious elite
  • Jesus’ Disciples
  • – “Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Susanna and many others”
• What is he saying?
  • This is the parable Jesus ever told
  • If you can’t understand THIS PARABLE, you won’t understand ANY of the others!  – Jesus

3 – What did Jesus mean for his hearers THEN & THERE?

For EVERYONE: 

• The way you matters!
• Your matters! 

For his DISCIPLES: 

• He needs them to understand their in their own learning and sanctification
• He wants them to know that they should beat themselves up when some don’t take to heart what they have to share

Four kinds of soil represent the 4 kinds of they will encounter

1. HARD PACKED SOIL – Some who will just receive any teaching about God
2. SHALLOW/ROCKY SOIL – Some who will receive it, and yet will not
3. THORNY SOIL – Some who will receive teachings about God, but those teachings will get
4. FERTILE/GOOD SOIL – There are those who will receive these teachings about God and who will nurture them in a healthy, nutrient-rich environment, allowing them to permeate their being, and once they are mature, the teachings will produce ; Good for themselves and others that are beyond their wildest expectations.

4 – What might Jesus mean for us today?

• Jesus seems to have mainly been pointing out the difference between those who simply listen with their ears and those who with their .  
• Jesus seemed intent on telling his listeners that the condition of their hearts was PARAMOUNT to whether or not His words would have any redemptive value in their lives. 

There are some that think this parable may speak to the issue of

There are some that teach this parable as unlocking the mysteries of

1. We should be examining the of our soil

• hard soil? – ask God to you
• shallow or rocky soil? – ask God for dirt! 
• weeds and thorns in your soil? – Take a fearless of your time and your money and your thoughts.

ASK Holy Spirit for help!!

Sanctification: A Christian teaching that describes how God a person to make them fit for a holy purpose.  

The one thing that clearly separates the 4th soil from all of the other three is the presence of fruit…a RICH HARVEST, an CROP.  

John 15:2 (AMP)

Jesus says, Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that continues to bear fruit, He [repeatedly] prunes, so that it will bear more fruit [even richer and finer fruit]. 

the PRUNING!  Lean into it!

The pruning process can be difficult and painful, but IF you embrace it, it can lead to a more satisfying, joyful, free, empowered, and fruitful life.  

Gal 5:

¹⁶ So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. ¹⁷ The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. ¹⁸ But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses.

¹⁹ When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, ²⁰ idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, ²¹ envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

What is the fruit of the Spirit? 

²² But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

• These aren’t the same as SPIRITUAL GIFTS. 
• The gifts are given , One person gets one, while another gets something else.  

ALL OF US, should exhibit ALL OF THE FRUITS…in AMOUNTS, as we mature in Christ; pressing into our sanctification, and resembling Him more and more!  

Romans 7

⁴ So, my dear brothers and sisters, this is the point: You died to the power of the law when you died with Christ. And now you are united with the one who was raised from the dead. As a result, we can produce a harvest of good deeds for God. ⁵ When we were controlled by our old nature, sinful desires were at work within us, and the law aroused these evil desires that produced a harvest of sinful deeds, resulting in death. ⁶ But now we have been released from the law, for we died to it and are no longer captive to its power. Now we can serve God, not in the old way of obeying the letter of the law, but in the new way of living in the Spirit.