Matthew 13:18–23
18“Hear then the parable of the sower. 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 the one on whom seed was sown beside the road. 20“The one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; 21yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away. 22“And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. 23“And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.”
Focused Thinking:
What happens when the seed falls BESIDE THE ROAD?
What happens when people HEAR the WORD but DON’T UNDERSTAND IT?
19“…the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the one on whom seed was sown beside the road.”
Satan steals the seed like the birds of the air steal the seeds.
Satan is a thief; stealing is who he is and what he does.
He comes to steal, kill and destroy.
- These are the people who typically don’t see their need.
- They don’t have much conscience regarding sin. In fact, many times they don’t even believe in absolute truth, they practice situational ethics.
Personal Application:
What can we do as a church to protect the seeds of the Word from Satan?
Prayer is obviously the first and foremost way.
- What if we produced “take-away” sheets every week?
- What if we addressed specific ways that the thief will try to steal the seed?
Focused Thinking:
What happens when the seed falls on ROCKY SOIL?
20“The one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; 21yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away.
This man hears the Word and immediately receives it with joy.
- He has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary.
- When affliction or persecution arises because of the Word, immediately he falls away.
Many times these people approach the gospel as a self-help program and if the gospel doesn’t help enough then they fall away.
Another group approach the gospel as a prosperity gospel and if all of the problems aren’t removed and replaced with blessings they fall way.
The gospel does forgive you and ultimately frees you, but it doesn’t immediately remove the consequences of your sin. We still live in a sinful world among sinful people and we still battle sin ourselves so the gospel doesn’t magically make everything better circumstantially.
Many times these people are unintentionally approaching God as a genie in the bottle or a spiritual Santa Clause. The gospel does give us life and life more abundant; but it requires us to be salt and light in a dark and sinful world.
Personal Application:
We must not give people the “bait and switch” tactic with the gospel.
We must tell the people that the gospel is a free gift, but that it is a lifestyle of denying yourself daily, picking up your cross and following Jesus.
We must teach a God-centered gospel, not a man-centered gospel.
Focused Thinking:
What happens when the seed falls AMONG THE THORNS?
22“And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.
This man hears the Word, and the worry of the world choked the Word and it becomes unfruitful.
This man hears the Word and the deceitfulness of wealth choked the Word and it became unfruitful.
- This is Satan’s most subversive tactic of all. These people hear and accept the Word and allow it to take root in their hearts, giving hope of a harvest. But thorns grow up and choke out the growing seed. Thorns rob nutrition, water, light and space from newly sprouting seeds.
Distractions and conflicts rob new believers of time to reflect on and digest God’s Word to grow from it, as well as robbing them of guidance and support from interaction with other Christians.
Jesus described the “thorns”: cares of the world and lure of wealth.
I think this is the majority of the American Church today.
- American Christians want their money first and God second.
- American Christians want their will first and God’s will second.
- American Christians want success and security, not sacrifice and service.
Personal Application:
The desires of one’s heart influences one’s response.
The attitude of one’s heart influences one’s response.
The condition of one’s heart influences one’s response.
Since money is such a dominant idol in America, it is absolutely essential that we have quality classes that teach people God’s truth regarding money.
- This is one of the most strategic ways for us to help people in the middle.
- We must do more than just tell people God’s truth about money; we must show them how to get out of debt and be good stewards.
Focused Application:
What happens when the seed falls ON GOOD SOIL?
23“And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty and some thirty.”
This man hears the Word and understands it.
This man bears fruit and brings forth fruit, some a hundredfold, some sixty and some thirty.
- We must find ways to PLOW the soil in the hearts of people.
- We must find ways to PREPARE THE SEEDBED in the hearts of people.
- We must find ways to PLANT the SEED in the hearts of people.
- We must PRAY for RAIN.
I need to set aside an afternoon for our team to think through this and see what we can do to prepare the field better, plant the seeds better and pray for rain more.
Interactive Prayer: Prayed Offline today.
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