This biblical teaching is a production of The Walk Ministries with Pastor Jeno Shaw. You can watch the video below, and then read the teaching notes that follow.
Overview
Matthew 13:1-9 “The same day went Jesus out of the house, and sat by the sea side. (2) And great multitudes were gathered together unto him, so that he went into a ship, and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore. (3) And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow; (4) And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up: (5) Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth: (6) And 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 sprung up, and choked them: (8) But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold. (9) Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.”
Explanation
The soil in each in each of the four scenarios is talking about the heart condition. The seed is talking about the Word of God.
- Wayside: Hear the Word but no understanding. Bird(demon) of the air steals the seed from you. Even if you break it down to them, because of their heart, it’s not going to absorb, and they will not understand, even when it’s laid out to them. It could be because of pride. God can hide knowledge in the simple (1Cor 1:27) from the wise.
1 Corinthians 1:27 “But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;” So it can be something foolish, something simple, I mean, something right in your face, and you’re going to dismiss it because of your wisdom. Don’t let your own wisdom trip you up.
- Rock: They hear the word and actually receive joy but the roots don’t go down deep; therefore, when trouble comes, they don’t stand on the Word of God but actually go in a different direction, and they fall away. I’ve heard those people. They say, “I tried Christianity, but it’s too hard.” Have you ever heard people say that?
- Thorns: They hear the word and they actually become doers of the Word because “they grew up,” but they become trapped by worry (not applying the Word to their situation) and by the deceitfulness of wealth. For instance, they can be blessed and then they’ll say, “Okay, I can take over from here Lord,” and the Word becomes choked out of their lives making it unfruitful.
- Good soil: They hear the word AND understand it. They will produce crops, yielding a hundred, sixty, or thirty times what was sown, which is why it’s good to take notes.
Notice the levels
Each level heard the Word of God, and as you go down the list, it keeps getting better. That means the sower had to have patience.
The test: Has this happened to you?
Have you ever gone to church then went home to eat or even to go out shopping or visit a friend and later that night you’re like, “Hmm, church was good today. I mean, I remember FEELING GOOD, but what was the message?” You don’t remember the message. That’s the bird of the air stealing your seed. And we all know who likes to steal. So what are you going to do about it? Pray and next time you can take notes. That way, at least if you forget the word that was preached, you can take out your notes and revive the word of God in your heart.
Wrapping it up
Now to wrap this up, I want you to also notice in this parable that, out of these four scenarios, only one was the right path, the right heart. So that’s one out of four. That means, let’s say you have a church service of 100 people, only 25 people will “get it.” Think about that! Okay, saints, I truly love you all, Pastor Jeno
