Hi Everyone
This is a continuation from last week, where we started to talk about the Sower and the Soils. This is a very rich parable from our Lord, the one that holds the key to unlocking the rest of the Word, I believe.
Chris
This Parable is First About the Word
Luke 8:11 “Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.
Mark 4:14 The sower sows the word. (NKJV)
This is the parable of all parables. It is about the Word being sown and the result of it. The Word is not a one-time thing but a progression of many areas. This parable applies to every area of revelation in the Word.
We will never come to a full revelation of Jesus and His finished work while on earth, which is why Paul says he presses on Philippians 3:12. It is for every area of revelation in the Word about the love of God, our fullness in Christ, holiness, stewardship, tithing, gifts of the holy spirit, God's will, healing, miracles, prosperity, relationships, everything emanating from God's grace, His infinite goodness.
In each area of the Word where it is sown we can be one of the 4 soils - there can be things that we can completely miss, sprout up in excitement over only to fade (e.g. excited about tithing only to give up in the hard times), fail to bear fruit because of choking or bear fruit because of how we hear and believe.
We need to sow the Word in every area, on ourselves, on others.
It is About Bearing Fruit
Mark 4:8 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.” (NKJV)
The final result of this parable is thus not about getting saved - it was about bearing fruit. If it was just about salvation, then every Christian who has accepted the Lord ought to be bearing fruit-30, 60, 100 fold.
The fact that many are not bears testimony to this.
The importance the Lord places on this tells us also how much the Lord wants for us to lead fruitful lives, not just get saved and get by. We were made to bear fruit and if we don't, we will have missed what Jesus died for. Yes, we can be saved, but not be fruitful. In many places, we read about bearing fruit (good tree and good fruit, telling by the fruit, bearing fruit in season, fruit of the Spirit) and this is what it is about - Jesus said that He is the vine and we are the branches, so when we are connected to Him, the good tree, we were made to bear fruit.
Question is: How?
It is About Hearing
Mark 4:20 …those who hear the word… (NKJV)
Mark 4:9 And He said to them, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” (NKJV)
This parable is also about HOW we HEAR THE WORD. Jesus said that His Words are Spirit, and that they are life. Once we are connected to Him through the Word, we bear fruit.
Not all who hear the Word bear fruit, just as not all who read the Bible are transformed. Note that 3 out of 4 types of people who hear the word don't bear fruit. That should be fair warning for us to "have ears that hear".
This Parable is THE Answer…
Mark 4:13 And He said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? (NKJV)
This parable shows how Word becomes Fruit. Forget all other ways of trying to bear fruit – it starts from the Word and our hearing of it, the Seed and the Soil.
Much has been said about glorifying God as the end of our Christian lives. Our Lord said:
John 15:7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. 8 By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples. (NKJV)
So for us to glorify the Father is to bear fruit. This happens when what we ask for, our prayers, our desire for God’s will, come to pass. We should then take careful note of this parable if we want to glorify the Father.
Wayside…
Matthew 13:4 And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them. (NKJV)
Matthew 13:18 “Therefore hear the parable of the sower: 19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside. (NKJV)
Mark 4:4 And it happened, as he sowed, that some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds of the air came and devoured it. (NKJV)
Mark 4:14 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. (NKJV)
Luke 8:5 “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. (NKJV)
Luke 8:11 “Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. 12 Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. (NKJV)
Wayside: Did These Hear the Word?
Matthew 13:19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom…
Mark 4:15 And these are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown. When they hear…
Luke 8:11 “Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. 12 Those by the wayside are the ones who hear…
These people did hear the Word. They heard the sermons! Read their Bibles!
But nothing happened! The Word in that area caused no changes in their lives, with no fruit to show.
Why was this so? May I suggest some reasons, according to scriptures?
Wayside: Did Not Accept the Full Counsel
Matthew 13:19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it,…
There will be some hearers who never take the full counsel of God's Word. Without reading the Word earnestly for ourselves, without listening to good preaching, we can end up cherry-picking what we want to hear and leave out what we don’t like.
Acts 20:27 For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God. (NKJV)
There is a whole counsel of God that we must be careful to note. We may believe in other things that take precedence to the belief of the Word e.g. What we think as truth (unrenewed mind), denominational positions that don't believe in/teach us not to pay attention to certain parts of the Bible.
Wayside: Did Not Understand the Word of the Kingdom
Matthew 13:19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it,…
Many do not understand the Word of the Kingdom. Note that Jesus did not say Word of Salvation but the Word of the Kingdom. Understanding of the Kingdom is very important. If we have no understanding of the Kingdom, we will carry on our life the same way, like we were made for this world, as unsaved men with no understanding walking only by the futility of our minds (Eph 4:17). When we understand what God has done and tune in to what He is doing, we have the big picture that allows us to understand why we do what we do. When we have no understanding of the Kingdom, in any area we don't see the relevance (e.g. healing, miracles, supernatural gifts, righteousness, holiness etc.) then that part will be snatched away. God is always trying to sow these into our hearts.
Wayside: Embraced Thoughts that Make the Word of No Effect
Some have embraced traditions, ideas, thoughts or practices that run counter the Word and make it of no effect. Jesus said:
Mark 7:9 He said to them, “All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition. 10 For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.’ 11 But you say, ‘If a man says to his father or mother, “Whatever profit you might have received from me is Corban”—’ (that is, a gift to God), 12 then you no longer let him do anything for his father or his mother, 13 making the word of God of no effect through your tradition which you have handed down. And many such things you do.” (NKJV)
There are many things in tradition and culture, that if we embrace, will mean that we don’t take God’s Word to heart. When the Word comes, it then gets quickly snatched away.
Wayside: Believed the words of Man not the Word of God
There are those who have believed teachers who told them how to interpret parts of scriptures so that they are no longer valid/powerful in their lives. There will be false doctrines unless we stay close to God's Word:
2 Timothy 3:2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, 4 traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! (NKJV)
Time will come when some won't endure sound doctrine, having itching ears:
2 Timothy 4:2 Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. 3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; (NKJV)
Regardless of who is doing the teaching, we need to seek this out ourselves like the Bereans Acts 17:11. We ourselves are accountable for what we hear and believe. There are many who will hear what they want to hear, not what the Word says.
Wayside: Afraid of the Truth
Some are simply afraid. Scared by other falsehoods, fear of looking stupid, fear of humiliation, fear of the unknown, fear of the supernatural (because we are so set in the natural instead of the things that are not seen:
2 Corinthians 4:17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, 18 while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal. (NKJV)
Fear of having faith. Sometimes we are simply afraid of having the mediocre messed with. We would rather live in failure or mediocrity than to take on God’s Word and believe for great things. We can actually fear of having the reasons for living mediocre taken away.
Fear is the opposite of faith. Faith comes from the Word and we must allow the Word to be either true or false. If it is in the Word, it is for our good and we must look at it head on, not in fear.
We MUST Open Ourselves to the Word
Read it with an open mind, not hindered by the things that snatch away the Word.
Remember that ALL scripture is useful.
2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. (NKJV)
If it is not of use, it wouldn't be there any longer! And if we are finding that there seems to be a lot of scripture, especially in the New Testament, that is somehow “not applicable” to our life and times, we really ought to beware.
The Take Away
This Parable is all about how to hear God’s Word so that we can be fruitful
We don’t want the Word to land on the Wayside
Without the full counsel of God's Word in our lives, we will never be whole like God intended.
1. We need to be open to the whole counsel of God
2. We need to be open to people who have revelation, understanding in areas that we are short on.
3. We need to TUNE IN to what God has done/is doing in His Kingdom. Operating together as the Church, we become like Christ our Groom!
4. We must not be afraid of change. Transformation will cause change.
5. What we don’t understand, we must not throw out or explain away. Ask, seek and knock.
The key to this is hunger - we must be greedy for the things of God, not allowing anything to be in the way, forgetting none of His goodness (Psalm 103:2 , Philemon 6). A big part of this goes back to how we see God as, whether as a loving father or a judging, angry God.
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