You are listening to Abide in Jesus, the podcast for women who want to experience Christ’s healing touch in their lives. I’m your host, author and Bible teacher Carolyn Rice, and in this episode, we’ll be looking at the parable of the sower.
Scripture for today Mark 4:1-20 and I’ll be reading from the world English bible
Again he began to teach by the seaside. A great multitude was gathered to him, so that he entered into a boat in the sea and sat down. All the multitude were on the land by the sea. He taught them many things in parables, and told them in his teaching, “Listen! Behold, the farmer went forth to sow, and it happened, as he sowed, some seed fell by the road, and the birds came and devoured it. Others fell on the rocky ground, where it had little soil, and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of soil. When the sun had risen, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away. Others fell among the thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit. Others fell into the good ground, and yielded fruit, growing up and increasing. Some brought forth thirty times, some sixty times, and some one hundred times as much.” He said, “Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear. When he was alone, those who were around him with the twelve asked him about the parables. He said to them, “To you is given the mystery of the kingdom of God, but to those who are outside, all things are done in parables, that ‘seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest perhaps they should turn again, and their sins should have forgiven them.'” He said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? How will you understand all of the parables? The farmer sows the word. These are they by the road, where the word is sown; and when they have heard, immediately Satan comes, and takes away the word which has been sown in them. These in like manner are those who are sown on the rocky places, who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with joy. They have no root in themselves, but endure for a while, then, when oppression or persecution arises because of the word, immediately they stumble. Others are those who are sown among the thorns. These are those who have heard the word, and the cares of this age, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. These are those who were sown on the good ground: such as hear the word, and accept it, and bear fruit, some thirty times, some sixty times, and some one hundred times.”
The Word is Sown into our Hearts
Verse 14 Jesus says that what the farmer is sowing is the Word.
And in verse 15 it says where the farmer is sowing the word. .it is “In them”
The KJV and other versions it says the word is sown in “their hearts.”
How do things get into our hearts?
Through our eyes, our ears, and what we think about.
It is what we are taking into our minds and dwelling upon.
The Devil Steals the Word
The first way Jesus says the seed of the Word is lost is through Satan stealing that word.
How does he do that?
Some ways He tries to steal the word is by keeping people from believing Christ at all, keeping them from believing He is their savior.
But another way the devil can steal the word in a believer’s life is through discouragement, lies, circumstances, and words from people around you.
I remember a time my son was talking about Jesus to an older man, and before my son could finish his sentence, the man blurted out, “That’s Stupid!”
We all stood stunned for a moment,
This man vehemently didn’t believe the word of God or even that Jesus existed, but if my son was not strong in his faith, the devil could have used this man to steal my son’s faith, to steal the word of God from him.
Think for a moment, how has the enemy tried in your life to steal the word, or your faith in God’s promises, from you?
Discouragement,
Doubt?
Believing God’s promises will come to pass for everyone but you?
Circumstances?
Or words from people like that man who spoke so vehemently to my son?
No Root
Verse 16 talks of the Second way the Word is lost.
These receive the word with joy, but they have no root in themselves, so when oppression or persecution arises, they stumble.
The word did what it was supposed to, it went into their hearts!
Persecutions and oppression are tools of the devil to steal the word from your heart and if it can, it will. It will get your attention off of the Word and onto the persecution or oppression.
But they have no root.
How are roots created in our hearts?
By cultivating the word into our hearts.
Jesus is using the picture of seed being sown into a garden here, so let’s look at this.
When we plant a seed,
We water it,
It needs light
And it needs the weeds taken care of it, so they don’t choke the plant.
The seed of the word is planted in our hearts,
But we water it and cultivate it by learning how to read the word for ourselves and putting it into practice in our lives.
Thorns
The third way Jesus talks about the seed of the word being lost from our hearts is the thorns, which choke the word.
And in his interpretation, he says the cares of this world, deceitfulness of riches and lusts for other things come in and choke that word.
How many of us have one day said, I need to get to this other thing, I’ll get to the word later?
We meant for it to be a priority, but something else comes up.
And without realizing it, one day turns to two, and two turns to seven. Seven turns to a month, and a month can turn to a year.
With all our hearts we meant to make reading the word and doing our devotions a priority, but other things took priority.
Now, I’m not trying to guilt or shame anyone here, because we’ve all done this at times, myself included.
And there are times when we just can’t get to the word, and that’s when we rely on the word, we’ve already put in to carry us through.
Things like disasters, emergencies, surgeries, birth of a child…
And what if, when we have small children, and our priority needs to be that child, because God gifted us with that child?
That is when, maybe listening to the word on audio when you can come into play or having your bible out and just thinking on one verse.
But be aware that this is how the thorns come in…, when we put it off for one day, and one day turns to two…
Good Ground
in Verse 20 Jesus explains what good ground is:
Those who hear the word
Accept it
And bear fruit.
Hear the Word don’t let it be stolen from you.
Accept it, choose to believe what God says is true.
Act on it.
Acting on the word is what bears fruit in our lives.
I had a teacher in bible college yell out in the middle of class,
“Application! Application! Application!”
Now that he’d gotten all of our attention, he explained that people could be in the word, they could be in church, but if they never took that word and applied it to their own lives or their own actions, it never bore any fruit.
Jesus wants our Heart.
Jesus cares about the state of your heart.
There is a passage in Isaiah 55:10-13 that speaks of what the word will do. This is from the NKJV
“For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven,
And do not return there,
But water the earth,
And make it bring forth and bud,
That it may give seed to the sower
And bread to the eater, So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth;
It shall not return to Me void,
But it shall accomplish what I please,
And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it. “For you shall go out with joy,
And be led out with peace;
The mountains and the hills
Shall break forth into singing before you,
And all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress tree,
And instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree;
And it shall be to the LORD for a name,
For an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.”
Respond
How can you and I make sure we are good ground for the Word?
Has Satan been trying to steal the word from you, saying it’s not really for you? Or sending thoughts to your mind to question the validity or truth of God’s word at all?
Could you memorize some scriptures that deal with those thoughts?
Or pick a verse to dwell upon during the day that will help you through some tough times? And when you dwell upon it, you’ll find yourself praying that Word back to God, thanking him for the truth of that word to happen in your life.
(That has gotten me through on more than one occasion)
Can you develop more spiritual roots in your life by growing in your knowledge of the word? Possibly listening to it on your way to work or while you’re cooking or doing the dishes?
Do you have time to read in the morning or before bed at night?
Can you defeat the thorns, the cares of this life from stealing the word by making a decision to make it more of a priority?
If you’ve been reading it one day a week, can you read it for two?
Often, God will work on one area of your life for weeks or months, possibly years. When you read, the same topic will come to your attention again and again. It often isn’t read it once, do it and be done with it. It’s often a period of change, letting God in to work in your heart on that one topic he’s bringing up.
That is how we hear it, accept it and apply it to our lives, often over a period of time, over a time of letting God work in us.
What is one way you will grow in not letting the word be stolen from you?
Can I pray for you today?
Father God, I pray for my dear sister and friend in Christ. I pray that the things in her life which have been stealing your precious word from her would be exposed, and she would grow strong in your word, strong in her faith, and strong in You. Help the seed of your word to take root in her heart, help her to know that your promises are for her, and she is not the only one being left out of them, but she is so included in them! Help her to know that she is loved beyond measure, and to know that those thoughts that come to her mind at the most opportune of times, thoughts that want to steal her peace and joy, those strongholds in her mind can be torn down by the truth of your word. Thank you, father, that you will help her retain your word, declare your truth over herself and over her circumstances, and that you would help her to grow strong and mature in her faith. Help her to know you are a good father, and that she is worthy of you because of what Jesus did on the cross for her, shedding his blood and rising again. Her sins are washed away like snow when she comes and brings them before you. Give her a confidence in coming to you, freely and without hindrance. Remove any blockages or lies that would tell her she’s not good enough for you. Show her how much she is loved, cherished, thought of and chosen by you. In Jesus’ mighty name, I pray. Amen.
Thank you for listening to abide in Jesus. You can find show notes for this episode at CarolynsBooks.com.
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