NSMinistries
November 9th 2003, 11:04 AM
The Parable of the Sower is not about the farmer (God); it is about the types of soil (hearts) that the seeds fall on. Depending on these types of soil the outcome of the seeds growth is determined.
Soil 1 - Matthew 13:19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path.
Mark 4:4 And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it.
Luke 8:5 “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the air devoured it.
Path Soil – On the way people. They live for the moment. These are the people who can question if they were really saved or not.
Question: Do you live for the moment, or do you take the time to enjoy the moment but keep your eye on the prize.__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________
Soil 2 - Matthew 13:20-21 As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, 21 yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away. [1]
Footnotes
[1] 13:21 Or stumbles
Mark 4:5-6 Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil. 6 And when the sun rose it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away.
Luke 8:6 And some fell on the rock, and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture.
Rocky Soil – People that change as much as the tides. These are the type of people who live for the cause of the day. Once it is not the in thing or they are made fun of they leave their cause behind.
Question: Have you had your causes in the past? Did you get bored with them or leave them behind after it wasn’t the “right” cause anymore? Why does being a Christian matter now? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________
Soil 3 - Matthew 13:22 As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.
Mark 4:7 Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain.
Luke 8:7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it.
Thorny Soil – Worry worts. These are the type of people who live a life of distraction. They have so much going on in their lives that the spiritual does not seem as important as the rest of their lives.
Question: Are you the type to worry? It only seems natural to worry about what is to come in our lives. Is the financial side of your life taking you away from your fellowship with God? Can work and your personal life be a stumbling block for you? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________
Soil 4 - Matthew 13:23 As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”
Mark 4:8 And other seeds fell into good soil and produced grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.”
Luke 8:8 And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded a hundredfold.” As he said these things, he called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
Good Soil – A ready heart, Ripe for conviction. These are the people who have come to live life with a broken heart. The Holy Spirit has prepared their hearts to truly repent and they have not fought it. Just like the soil that brings forth a crop worthy of gathering the heart has been tended to and fertilized to yield fruits of the labor of Love.
Question: Has God touched your heart in a way to respond to His will? Have you found yourself seeking for something? How has it changed how you look at the world? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________
Matthew 13:1-9
That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. 2 And great crowds gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach. 3 And he told them many things in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. 5 Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, 6 but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away. 7 Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. 8 Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9 He who has ears, [1] let him hear.”
Footnotes
[1] 13:9 Some manuscripts add here and in verse 43 to hear
Mark 4:1-9
Again he began to teach beside the sea. And a very large crowd gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat in it on the sea, and the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land. 2 And he was teaching them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them: 3 “Listen! A sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it. 5 Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil. 6 And when the sun rose it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. 8 And other seeds fell into good soil and produced grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.” 9 And he said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
Luke 8:4-8
4 And when a great crowd was gathering and people from town after town came to him, he said in a parable: 5 “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the air devoured it. 6 And some fell on the rock, and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. 7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it. 8 And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded a hundredfold.” As he said these things, he called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
"Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved."
Soil 1 - Matthew 13:19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path.
Mark 4:4 And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it.
Luke 8:5 “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the air devoured it.
Path Soil – On the way people. They live for the moment. These are the people who can question if they were really saved or not.
Question: Do you live for the moment, or do you take the time to enjoy the moment but keep your eye on the prize.__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________
Soil 2 - Matthew 13:20-21 As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, 21 yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away. [1]
Footnotes
[1] 13:21 Or stumbles
Mark 4:5-6 Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil. 6 And when the sun rose it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away.
Luke 8:6 And some fell on the rock, and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture.
Rocky Soil – People that change as much as the tides. These are the type of people who live for the cause of the day. Once it is not the in thing or they are made fun of they leave their cause behind.
Question: Have you had your causes in the past? Did you get bored with them or leave them behind after it wasn’t the “right” cause anymore? Why does being a Christian matter now? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________
Soil 3 - Matthew 13:22 As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.
Mark 4:7 Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain.
Luke 8:7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it.
Thorny Soil – Worry worts. These are the type of people who live a life of distraction. They have so much going on in their lives that the spiritual does not seem as important as the rest of their lives.
Question: Are you the type to worry? It only seems natural to worry about what is to come in our lives. Is the financial side of your life taking you away from your fellowship with God? Can work and your personal life be a stumbling block for you? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________
Soil 4 - Matthew 13:23 As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”
Mark 4:8 And other seeds fell into good soil and produced grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.”
Luke 8:8 And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded a hundredfold.” As he said these things, he called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
Good Soil – A ready heart, Ripe for conviction. These are the people who have come to live life with a broken heart. The Holy Spirit has prepared their hearts to truly repent and they have not fought it. Just like the soil that brings forth a crop worthy of gathering the heart has been tended to and fertilized to yield fruits of the labor of Love.
Question: Has God touched your heart in a way to respond to His will? Have you found yourself seeking for something? How has it changed how you look at the world? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________
Matthew 13:1-9
That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. 2 And great crowds gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach. 3 And he told them many things in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. 5 Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, 6 but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away. 7 Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. 8 Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9 He who has ears, [1] let him hear.”
Footnotes
[1] 13:9 Some manuscripts add here and in verse 43 to hear
Mark 4:1-9
Again he began to teach beside the sea. And a very large crowd gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat in it on the sea, and the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land. 2 And he was teaching them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them: 3 “Listen! A sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it. 5 Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil. 6 And when the sun rose it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. 8 And other seeds fell into good soil and produced grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.” 9 And he said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
Luke 8:4-8
4 And when a great crowd was gathering and people from town after town came to him, he said in a parable: 5 “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the air devoured it. 6 And some fell on the rock, and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. 7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it. 8 And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded a hundredfold.” As he said these things, he called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
"Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved."