The Parable Of The Sower

" HE WHO HAS EARS, LET HIM HEAR."

"A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along
 the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not
 have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow.
 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they
 had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants,
 so that they did not bear grain. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced
a crop,a hundred, sixty, or thirty times what was sown.  (Mathew 13:3-8)

The Parable of the Sower explained:
When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it,
the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed
sown along the PATH. The one who received the seed that fell on ROCKY places
is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy.
But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution
comes because of the word, he quickly falls away.
The one who received the seed that fell among the THORNS is the man who hears
the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it,
making it unfruitful. 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.  (v.19-23)
read also Mark 4:3-8,14-20

                                                           PATH

1. PATH --Satan snatches away the seed that was sown. Whatever you believe
                  about the Lord Jesus and his gospel of truth, the devil is trying to steal 
                  from your heart to deceive you, causing you to doubt  God.
                 As Paul says in (2Cor.11:3-4) (read also 2Tim.1:12,3:14-17)
                 But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent's
                 cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your
                 sincere and pure devotion to Christ. For if someone comes to you
                 and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached,
                 or if you receive a different spirit from the one you accepted,
                YOU PUT UP WITH IT EASILY ENOUGH.

                                                          ROCKS                                                                      


2. ROCKY --NO ROOT
                     You could allow ostracism from your family, relatives or friends to
                     destroy your good relationship with Christ. They might insult you,
                     curse you, or threaten to exclude you because of your faith,
                     but you must be strong in your conviciton.
                     Jesus says in (Mat.10:37)
                     "Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not
                     worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than
                     me is not worthy of me."

                                                 THORNS

3. THORNS -- The worries of life, deceitfulness of wealth, desires for other things
                         that you idolize...money, pleasure, friends, career, sports...or anything
                         that you love more than God. (Mathew 6:24)

                        "No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love 
                        the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. 
                        You cannot serve both God and money.  

                        What about some crisis that severely affected you, and caused you to
                        doubt the promises of God?

                                                            GOOD SOIL

4. GOOD SOIL -- Produce a crop/ Multiply
                        This is the soil that we need our hearts planted in. We want to yield 
                        a bountiful crop for our Lord. We can do this by continuing to believe
                        and practice what we have learned.
                        And no matter what we hear from outside sources or from the enemy,
                        always guard our hearts with the truth of  God's words so that we will
                        not be moved from trusting Him.
                        Prayer with the help of the Holy Spirit is the best weapon to have
                        victory in our daily walk.
                        Many blessing are in store for those who faithfully serve Him.
                          
                        Jesus said, "I will show you what he is like who comes to me 
                        and hears my words and puts them into practice. He is like 
                        a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid a 
                       foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck 
                       that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. 
                       (remember the children's book, entitled, "The Three Little Pigs.")
                       (Luke 6:47-48-49, Mat.7:24-27, James 1:25)
                       But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice 
                       is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. 
                       The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its 
                       destruction was complete. 



* Let's Examine the condition of our hearts. Which soil is your heart planted in?
   Are you in good soil, or are you struggling to produce good fruit because of bad soil?
   Write down the list that occupy the most of your time instead of God....
   _________________________________________________________________ .    
   Pray and surrender it to God. Ask Him to help you to be victorious in your struggle
   to put away things that keep you from bearing fruit for Him.
   (read Heb.12:4-6)