I love gardening, the first five years of my life was spent on my grandparents farm in South Carolina. I remember the rich fertile soil my grand-daddy cultivated over the years for the different crops he grew. Depending on what was in the soil really affected the success of the crops. When that soil was free from weeds, thorns and stones, that crop usually yielded a big harvest.
In the book of Matthew, chapter 13, verses 3-9, Jesus gives us the parable of the soil. He uses the parable to describe the condition of the soil when the seed is sowed. The soil in this parable is you and I, the seed is the word of God, and the Sower is Jesus. If you are one who God has called to spread His Gospel, then you are a sower of God's holy word. The scripture states: (Matthew 13:3-9)
And he spoke many things to them in parables saying behold, a sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them. Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth. But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them, but others fell on good ground and yield a crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!
It was powerful how Jesus ended this passage of scripture with "He who has ears to hear, let him hear". He is challenging the listener to hear what he just said, as I will now challenge you.
Over in Genesis we see where God created the heavens and the earth. And the earth brought forth grass and herb yielding seed after his kind and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind, and God saw that it was good. (Genesis 1:12). At that moment, the soil was perfect, untouched by human hands. ... man had not been created yet. But God allowed a mist from the earth and watered the whold face of the ground, and he formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul (Genesis 2: 7).
At that time, man, made from soil, was given dominion over all that God had created. .. man even communed with God, talked with God, walked with God during the cool of the day. But man's action of disobeidence toward God by eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, after God had forbidden them to do so. ..caused man to be removed from the garden because of this sin. ..The God we serve will not look upon sin. .. and now that original soil called "man" is no longer perfect, there is something in his soil that does not allow him to get close to God. Adam and Eve's sin was disobeidience. Disobeidience will not allow you to be fruitful in God's kingdom.
In the parable Jesus talks about "wayside soil". .. if you are wayside soil. .. you hear the word of God in your life, but you don't receive it. .. you just leave it on the wayside right where you heared it. The word does not get into your soil where it can germinate and grow because you just left the word right where you heared it. But I will suggest to you that you have to allow the word of God to work in you in order for the word to work for you. It does you no good if you leave it by the wayside.
And then there is soil that is stony or rocky. .. and because it is such. .. the seed can't get deep enough in the soil because of the the stones and rocks in the soil, therefore the seed will try to germiate and grow, but it's not deep enough because of the stones and rocks, and durig the heat of the day, the plant will wither from the heat because the root is not deep enough. ..You have to plant the word of God deep into your soil so the roots of the word of God will ground itself deep in your soil. .. if you do, when you are in that firey furnance of life. .. when you face that crisis situation. .. the Word of God will substain you and you will be successful. So what are the stony things in your soil that are keeping you from receiving God's word. Anything that puts distance between you you and God are things you should consider as stones and rocks in your soil. I don't need to know what that is. .. but God knows. ... so don't think God will just look over it because we do. ..remember Adam and Eve got evicted from the garden because of their sin. .. you and I are no exception.
And some seed fell among thorns. .. the thorns in our soil are things that seem to stick around in our lives. .. things we often find it difficult to give up. .. things that we seem to value more than the word of God. .. things that become idols in our lives. .. things like flags. .. monuments. .political affliations. ..race. ..guns. .constitutions. .. and even individuals in our lives. .. anything that is contrary to the Word of God being primary in your life is a thorn in your soil. .. The popular braclet "WWJD", what would Jesus do is very powerful. ..IF we really did what Jesus would do, there would be no Idols in our lives, no flags, monuments, political affiliations or people that could keep us from trying to live a life soldout for Christ. ..Thorns. .. anything that we deem so important because it's your right, it's your heritage, it's your choice. .. It is your choice. .. God gave man free will to choose. ..but choose carefully because God said choose life because the wages of sin is death God will make no exceptions because of your constitutional rights, your political affliation, what nationality you are. ..there is nothing in God's word that will give you a free pass because you think God is on your side. ..No. ..you have to be on God's side and the thorns in our soil have no standing in God's kingdom. .. Those thorns, and stones in our soil are defined in Galatians 5 verses 19-21. ..Now the works of the flesh are manifest which are these: adultery, forication, uncleanness, lasciviousess, Idolatry, like witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drukenness, revellings, and such like of which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
And then Jesus talked about the good soil. ... soil that produced 30, 60 and 100 fold. I asked God if it was good soil why didn't it all produce a 100 fold. ...the answer He shared with me was. .. that is determined by the amount of word you have deep in your soil. ...the more word. .. the bigger the harvest. .. and what does that harvest look like. .. well in Galatians chapter five verses 22-23 states But the fruit of the Spirit is Love, Joy, Peace, Longsuffering, Gentleness, Goodness, Faith, Meekness, Temperance... Against such there is no Law. .. Seems rather simple when you look at the things that are subject to the Law and the things that are not. ..
So the question is. .. What's in Your Soil. .. and is it subject to the Law. ...how you answer these two questions will give you a glimpse into what your standing looks like from God's perspective. ..and in the end. ..that's the only perspective that matters. ... May God Bless you to hear and receive this word. AMEN.
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