Luk 8:4-15 And when much people were gathered together, and were come to him out of every city, he spake by a parable: 5 A sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the way side; and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it. 6 And some fell upon a rock; and as soon as it was sprung 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 And other fell on good ground, and sprang up, and bare fruit an hundredfold. And when he had said these things, he cried, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. 9 And his disciples asked him, saying, What might this parable be? 10 And he said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand. 11 Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. 12 Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. 13 They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away. 14 And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection. 15 But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.
GOD HAS SET IN MOTION A LAW THAT WILL REMAIN AS LONG AS THE EARTH REMAINS.
He said: While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease. Gen 8:22
Look at some verses concerning sowing and reaping:
Even as I have seen, they that plow iniquity, and sow wickedness, reap the same. Job 4:8
He that soweth iniquity shall reap vanity: and the rod of his anger shall fail. Pro 22:8
For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind: it hath no stalk: the bud shall yield no meal: if so be it yield, the strangers shall swallow it up. Hos 8:7
Ye have plowed wickedness, ye have reaped iniquity; ye have eaten the fruit of lies: because thou didst trust in thy way, in the multitude of thy mighty men. Hos 10:13
They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him. Psa 126:5-6
The wicked worketh a deceitful work: but to him that soweth righteousness shall be a sure reward. Pro 11:18
Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain righteousness upon you. Hos 10:12
Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. Gal 6:7-8
The SEED
Luke 8:11, "...The seed is the word of God."
Some interesting facts about the SEED - The WORD of GOD.
1. IT IS INCORRUPTIBLE, AND IT LIVETH AND ABIDETH FOREVER
1 Peter 1:23, "Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever."
Luke 21:33, "Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away."
2. IT IS POWERFUL
For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Heb 4:12
3. IT IS PURE
Psalms 119:140, "Thy word is very pure: therefore thy servant loveth it."
Proverbs 30:5, "Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him."
So here we have a very special kind of seed. It is incorruptible, powerful, pure, and it lives and abides forever. The result of planting such a seed can be quite special!
Some interesting comparisons of the WORD as seed.
1. EVERY GOOD SEED HAS WITHIN ITSELF THE POTENTIAL TO DEVELOP INTO A PLANT.
The life resides in it ready to develop given the right conditions.
Even so EVERY Word of God carries with it the POWER to accomplish EXACTLY what it says.
Romans 10:17, "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."
Take away the germ and you destroy the seed. Even so take away faith from the Word of God and it is made of no effect.
Hebrews 4:2, "For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it."
Ever heard something that affected you really deeply that you even feel it physically? In a parallel manner the Word mixed with faith will deeply affect your spiritual man resulting in manifestations.
2. BOTH MUST BE PLANTED.
The act of planting a seed anticipates a result. You expect a result when you plant or you would just be wasting time. You must DO something with the seed, OR the Word. Keep the seed in a dry bottle on a shelf - it will remain only good seed - no fruit. Keep the Word in the book respectfully and reverently dust and clean it. It will remain the wonderful Word of God, but without result. No sowing, no reaping.
Reject the Word when it is preached and you reject the results of that Word in your life.
3. BOTH MUST BE NURTURED
Just as seed needs to be planted in the proper environment for best results, so the Word needs to be planted so that it will be most effective. It must also be properly attended to. "Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip." Hebrews 2:1
Several factors are required for the success of God’s Word in lives.
The most important is the ground. WE know already that the seed is GOOD. So our attention must be turned to the next most important thing...the ground...or the HEART of man
It is very difficult for plants to grow on solid rock. The heart needs to be prepared for reception of the seed of God’s Word.
Jesus differentiated between FOUR types of ground in referring to the hearer of the Word.
A. WAYSIDE GROUND HEARERS
Luke 8:12, "Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved."
This is the unconcerned and the indifferent. Whether a saint or a sinner, such an individual will not receive the benefit of the word preached, for they do not allow it to be effective in their lives. The ground is unprepared. It is trampled down and tightly packed, offering strong resistance to any attempt to plant a good seed. The enemy just comes along and takes away the Word from such a life.
B. ROCKY GROUND HEARERS
Luke 8:13, "They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away."
Here we have a situation where there is a little depth of soil that is prepared to receive the seed. The Word is received with joy but there is no depth. It reaches a solid barrier of rock beneath because the ground was not thoroughly broken up. When the heat of temptation is turned on these quickly fall because of the inward barrier that prevents the Word from lodging deeper. This hearer is affected by the Word while it is preached but does not allow it to take root. They are caught up in the moment and may even shed a tear or two but the layer of impenetrable rock underneath prevents the Word from taking root firmly and lack of proper supply results in loss of benefit. The least provocation throws every bit of the Word out of doors resulting in soul destroying fleshly selfish responds to situations and the environment.
C. THORNY GROUND HEARERS
Luke 8:14, "And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection. "
The people that are represented here are those who hear and receive the Word. The ground is fertile but there is a lack of careful attention. As a result the cares and riches and pleasures of this life take over the prime spot and become the top priorities. Like thorns and weeds they slowly choke the results of the Word. As a result the fruit produced brings no glory to God nor reward to themselves. There is a weird mixture of the world and the flesh with the application of the Word resulting in a life of gross imperfection, and the fruit on display (attitude, behavior, response and decisions) does nothing to glorify Christ. The window display turns everyone away from buying into what we have to offer.
Matthew 6:33, "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you."
D. GOOD GROUND HEARERS
Luke 8:15, "But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience."
Here we have ideal conditions. The heart is well prepared and receptive to the Word. It believes God and is constantly open to His Word. It allows no worldly distractions to take first place. It resists the devil’s efforts to steal the Word. It is constantly allowing the Word to penetrate deeper as it meditates day and night on that Word.
Psalms 1:1-3, "Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper."
The result of such a practice is abundant fruit that glorifies God and benefits the individual!!
If we are going to get results in the garden we need to obey the laws of gardening. If we require results from the Word in our lives we need to obey the spiritual laws of sowing and reaping.
Hebrews 2:1, "Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip."
Gardens need constant attention for maximum yield.
2 Peter 1:19, "We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:"
Paying attention to God’s Word can only result in benefit to the individual.
The Word has the power. Are you ready to receive it properly?
What kind of ground are you?
