07- DIFFERENT KIND OF SOIL
In the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, One God, Amen.
Lesson No. 7
DIFFERENT KIND OF SOIL
References:
Matthew 13:3-23.
Notes For Servants:
- Different soils require different work and labour. Similarly, different people have different needs.
- Even the good soils which bring forth fruits are not the same; some bring forth thirty, some sixty, and some hundred.
Objectives:
General: God’s word does not return empty, but the benefit depends on the receiving heart.
Specific:
- We are God’s labour and field. That reason alone should incite us to give an open heart to His word.
- Hearers of the word who are not doers lose the effect of God’s gift.
- God reveals His word to His beloved and those who are ready to accept it.
Instructions:
- Review the previous week’s lesson.
- God’s desire is our salvation. His word works in us if we give it a good soil.
- We should be vigilant and pay attention to God’s word lest we fail to bring fruits.
- Our adversary, the Devil, is trying hard to rob us of God’s word and its effects.
Bible Verse:
“And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.” (Matthew 10:22)
Lesson:
DIFFERENT KIND OF SOIL
A SOWER WENT OUT TO SOW
Great crowds gathered around Jesus by the lakeside where He told them several parables. One of those parables was about the sower who went out to sow. As he scattered the seed in the field, some of it fell along the path, some on rocky ground, some among thorns, and some in good soil which bore grain: thirty, sixty and one hundred grains.
Then the disciples asked Him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” And He answered them, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven, but to them it has not been given.”
Why were the disciples favoured in this way? Was it because they were more ready than others to obey the word? Or because they were more receptive and could understand better? Or was it simply that they had been chosen by predestination?
Christ mentioned that they had eyes which see and ears which hear. He told them, “Blessed are your eyes, for they see and your ears, for they hear.” And He added, “Many prophets and righteous men longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.” (Matthew 13: 3-23).
KINDS OF SOIL
Christ explained to His disciples the four kinds of soil. We should examine ourselves carefully and see to which kind we belong. The seeds are the word of God which is “imperishable” (I Peter 1:23). The sower of the seed is our Lord Jesus Christ. The people are God’s field, and God’s servants are “fellow workers for God” (I Corinthians 3:9). The Soil in which the seeds are planted is the hearts of those who hear God’s word. As there are four kinds of soil, so there are four kinds of hearts:
- THE PATH: The Lord Jesus called the first type of soil “the path.” Why is it bad? When are our hearts like this type of soil? What is the remedy ?
The answer is who hear God’s word without heeding it, soon forget it and are not influenced by it. They are an easy prey to the devil who snatches away every message they hear. Have you noticed that inattention to God’s word as well as lack of concentration, prevent God’s word from bearing fruit in our lives? If this is the case with us, let us kneel in repentance and sincerely ask God to give us a thirst for His word. Let us study God’s word, asking Him to give us concentration and understanding that we may be able to say with David, “Thy word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against Thee.”
2 THE ROCKY GROUND: When do hearts of flesh become stony? When pride finds its way into our hearts, causing us to lose all compassion and to start criticizing others. Listening attentively to God’s word and accepting it joyfully is not enough neither. A passing interest will not do. Our interest in God’s word should be deep and lasting. We may start well, but soon give up. The important thing is to preserve to the very end. “He who endures to the end will be saved” (Matthew 10:22).
If God reveals to me that the soil of my heart is rocky, let me do the following:
- Repent and come to God thanking Him humbly for His mercies and asking Him to melt my stony heart.
- Persevere in prayer and in the study of God’s word.
- Avoid listening to evil talks or keeping close companionship with godless friends.
‑ Examine myself continually and confess any sin as soon as it is committed, in order that my heart may be kept alive and sensitive.
- THORNY SOIL: “The thorns grew”. They were not visible when the seeds were sown, but at the end they choked the growing of the seeds. What are these thorns?
- The troubles and worries of life.
- The vanity of riches. Money in itself is not evil, but there is always the danger of becoming vain because of money. This often leads to a false sense of security.
If God reveals to me certain “thorns” in the soil of my heart, let me confess the sins which have caused the thorns. Let me continue to examine my heart prayerfully and in the light of God’s word that no new thorns may grow.
- THE GOOD SOIL: What quality characterizes this kind of soil and distinguishes it from the other three kinds? Meditate on the Lord’s words in John 15:8 “By this is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be my disciples.” Note that the good soil was not completely free from rock or thorns.
God’s saints are not sinless; but they have been set free from the dominion of sin.
Let us ask ourselves:
- Do we listen carefully to God’s word?
- Do we understand it?
- Do we humbly obey it?
- Does it bear fruit in our lives to the glory of God and extension of His Kingdom.
CONCLUSION
- God’s desire is our salvation. His word works in us if we give it a good soil.
- We should be vigilant and pay attention to God’s word lest we fail to bring fruits.
- Our adversary, the Devil, is trying hard to rob us of God’s word and its effects.
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