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The Good Soil



Parable of the Sower- The Good soil

goodsoil


Hear
= to hear, pay attention, understand, obey
Understand- to understand, to realize
  • Mt 13:51 “Have you understood all these things?” Jesus asked. “Yes,” they replied.
  • Mt 17:13 Then the disciples understood that he was talking to them about John the Baptist
  • Lk 24:45 Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures..
 
Accept-welcome, receive   
  • Heb 12:6 because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son.”
 
Retain-hold fast, possess
  • Heb 10:23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful
 
  • Heb 3:14 We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first.
 
  • 1Co 11:2 I praise you for remembering me in everything and for holding to the teachings, just as I passed them on to you.
 
  • Lk 4:42 At daybreak Jesus went out to a solitary place. The people were looking for him and when they came to where he was, they tried to keep him from leaving them.
 
 
Introduction
We know that the word of God is powerful-

Heb 4:12 For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

 

However, that power will be affected by our ‘ability’ to hear the word

The ability to hear is not a physical thing-but a spiritual thing;

 

1Co 2:14 The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.

1Co 2:15 The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man’s judgment:

1Co 2:16 “For who has known the mind of the Lord

that he may instruct him?”
 

But we have the mind of Christ.

 

It’s like the soil

If the seed can get into good ground, we know that it will grow & develop

So,…… it’s got to get into the ground and the ground has got to be good

 

If the word of God gets into us, then we can be confident that it will do what God set out for it to achieve-the word of God can look after itself!

 

Let’s look at the parable of the sower and focus on the good soil and encourage our faith-for a good crop is the result of the word getting into good soil

We find the parable of the sower written in 3 of the gospels-Matthew, mark & Luke.

Each one has a slightly different emphasis;

 
Matt 13 v 23

Mt 13:23 But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”

 
Mark 4 v 20

Mk 4:20 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.”

 
Luke 8 v15

Lk 8:15 But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.

 

Now, who wants to produce a crop? What kind of crop?

 

Col 1:10 And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God,

 
Harvest
Mt 9:37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few

2Co 9:10 Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness.

Gal 6:9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

Heb 12:11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

Jas 3:18 Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness.

 
 
 
 
 
 

Getting the seed/word INTO the ground (our hearts & minds)

 

How might this happen?

Train the mind-protect the mind-brain training-
  • Phil 4:8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.
 
  • Phil 4:7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
 
Ask the Holy Spirit to help-
  • Jn 16:13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.

               Jn 16:14 He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making                      it known to you.

Jn 16:15 All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you.

 
  • Ro 8:26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.

                Ro 8:27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit,        because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will.

 
Pray-for yourself-

Ro 12:1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.

Ro 12:2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

 

Pray-for others/the church-

 

Eph 1:17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.

 
The good soil

How do we make sure that the soil is good? We can’t.

 

You’ll notice the good soil was where the man heard, understood, accepted it and retained ‘the word

 
 
Sue Blake, 19/04/2009