Hi Everyone
We are continuing on the topic of Truth and are going onto this topic of the Sower and the Soils, how truth comes into our lives.
This is the first part of the Sower and the Soils. I expect this series to run another 2-3 more sessions. Meantime, listen to the audio, follow it on the notes and be blessed.
And remember to share it as you are.
Blessings!
Chris
Truth 3 – The Sower and the Soils 1
Reference Passages
Matthew 13:1 On the same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the sea. 2 And great multitudes were gathered together to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore. 3 Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying: “Behold, a sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them. 5 Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth. 6 But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away. 7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them. 8 But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9 He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” 10 And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?” 11 He answered and said to them, “Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. 12 For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. 13 Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. 14 And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says: ‘Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, And seeing you will see and not perceive; 15 For the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, And their eyes they have closed, Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them.’ 16 But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear; 17 for assuredly, I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it. (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? (NKJV)
Luke 8:4 And when a great multitude had gathered, and they had come to Him from every city, He spoke by a parable: 5 “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it. 6 Some fell on rock; and as soon as it sprang up, it withered away because it lacked moisture. 7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it. 8 But others fell on good ground, sprang up, and yielded a crop a hundredfold.” When He had said these things He cried, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” 9 Then His disciples asked Him, saying, “What does this parable mean?” 10 And He said, “To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is given in parables, that ‘Seeing they may not see, And hearing they may not understand.’ (NKJV)
Two Kinds of People
It is very interesting that the very people who were listening to this parable exemplified to a point the wisdom therein! We see in these passages of scriture two kinds of people being mentioned.
Multitudes
Matthew 13:2 And great multitudes were gathered together to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.
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.
Luke 8:4 And when a great multitude had gathered, and they had come to Him from every city, He spoke by a parable:
The first group we see here are the great multitudes. Many people had come from far and wide, hearing the fame of this man Jesus and the mighty miracles that He had wrought. The miracles of provision of food must also have travelled far and many folks must have been curious to come and see for themselves.
In essence, everybody wanted something from Him. Healing, food, entertainment for a few hours perhaps. Only a few really wanted Him, to be with Him and capture the heart of the man.
John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. (NKJV)
We need to realise that Christianity is not about how to live or what to do. It is about a Man and in knowing this Man is everything they needed.
John 17:3 And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. (NKJV)
When we know God through Jesus, we have everything we need: Eternal life is ours. This can sound like a cliché until we start to trust in His Word, a little at a time.
Psalm 34:8 Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him! (NKJV)
We need to taste a little and see. Taste can change, depending what we’ve been feeding on. Let’s determine to change our tastes so that we yearn for the things of the Eternal, the things of the Spirit, the things that have value forever. Nothing here matters unless it matters for eternity.
Disciples
Matthew 13:10 And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?”
Mark 4:10 But when He was alone, those around Him with the twelve asked Him about the parable.
Luke 8:9 Then His disciples asked Him, saying, “What does this parable mean?”
I am so happy that it was not just the Apostles who pressed in and got the exclusive explanation from the Lord. No, it wasn't to the 12 alone that this truth was given – it was clearly to those who sought the Lord. I don’t believe there was any clear distinction, like a membership of sorts. Disciples are simply those who seek the Lord. The disciples weren’t just there for what they could get for the here and now. They pressed in to know more.
Disciples want to understand.
It is for Us to Know
Matthew 13:11 He answered and said to them, “Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven,
Mark 4:11 And He said to them, “To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God;
Luke 8:10 And He said, “To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God…(NKJV)
The difference between the disciples and the multitudes can be summed up in a single word: “hunger”. These people were simply not satisfied by the false satiation that the things of the world provide. Sadly, hunger can be displaced by a lot of junk food, including much spiritual junk food, that look and sound religious but have little eternal value.
Remember the Parable of the Cockroach that we like to use? Once we are happy with the cockroach life, it’s all you will get.
Those hungry get to know the MYSTERIES of the KINGDOM! This same thought is repeated in:
Ephesians 5:17 Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. (NKJV)
Romans 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. (NKJV)
God wants us to know His will – He wants us to test it and tell the world how good it is!
Ominously, if we turn that same though the other way, we can say that those who don’t know/don’t want to know/say it is not for us to know the mysteries of the Kingdom aren't disciples for real.
Steward the Mind
The Gospel of Matthew has an extra bit here that the other Gospels did not have:
Matthew 13:12 For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.
This is like the parable of the talents (Matt 25:29) – those who seek will get even more. Our growth in the Lord is exponentially proportional to our seeking!
Our ability to seek the Lord, our wills, our minds, our ability to read, to hear and to understand are all talents from the Lord. If we don’t use this talent, we will lose it, like an atrophying muscle.
Solomon said this:
Proverbs 15:14 The heart of him who has understanding seeks knowledge, But the mouth of fools feeds on foolishness. (NKJV)
Those failing to seek understanding in the Word will invariably manifest it out of their mouths as fools. Out of the fullness of the heart, the mouth will speak, our Lord has said.
Don’t Grow Dull
Luke 8:10 …but to the rest it is given in parables, that ‘Seeing they may not see, And hearing they may not understand.’ (NKJV)
Matthew 13:13 Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. 14 And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says: ‘Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, And seeing you will see and not perceive; 15 For the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, And their eyes they have closed, Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them.’
We can hear and not listen. We can see and not perceive. This happens when our hearts are DULL, when we are in spiritual atrophy. When we start to put our minds to it, the healing, the restoration comes.
Mark 4:11…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.’”
Forgiveness of sins leads to wholeness. Sin corrupts. The removal of sin in our lives frees us to be whole in Him.
It is Open to All
Matthew 13:16 But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear; 17 for assuredly, I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it. (NKJV)
This is the good part – the blessing of having our eyes opened and our ears hearing is not something given by God according to His choosing – it is given to those who hunger, who took the trouble to stay around after the rest had left and to ask the Lord for the explanation.
Many people in the Old Testament who sought God through the ages never got to see this truth, the Man-God Jesus. Yet those dull sitting before Him listening to His preaching could completely miss Him. Sadly, this continues through till today.
Ask and You Will Receive
Mark 4:13 And He said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? (NKJV)
This is the Parable of Parables – if we don’t understand this one, then we will miss the rest. It seems like Jesus did expect that they would understand the parable, but when they did not and they sought Him for an answer, He gave it to them.
This is what we will be looking at in the next few sessions.
Seek first the Kingdom of God – seek Him and He shall be found. Ask, seek, knock.
The Take Away
- We can be one of the multitudes that come and go or
- We can be disciples, seeking to know more, seeking Jesus for answers
- We must be hungry, dissatisfied with this world to be truth seekers
- Our ability to seek is a talent not to be buried
- Those who seek knowledge from the Lord will understand the mysteries of the Kingdom, one truth at a time
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