Blessed are your Ears

Blessed are yall

Dichotomy of perception between God and man

After creation event...

Genesis 1:31 “God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.”

Tov (Hebrew) - Good, Goodness

Sometimes used simultaneously with ‘Covenant’

Covenant -> Trust

Shalom - Peace

God gives both to man

While in communion with God

Genesis 3:6 “When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.”

Tov - in the Psalms

The psalmist knows that those on the pathway, those who seek to order their lives rightly, after the ways of God and in the fear of God, will see the world differently. Those individuals will soon realize that the goal of life is not to earn divine blessing but to receive the simple elements of life as divine blessing, as an assurance that life is indeed filled with tov and shalom.

Dennis Tucker

Chasm is agitated / widened throughout time

Sin gets more widespread

Earth and people are constantly effected by consequence of sin

Culmination:

Genesis 6:1–2 “Now it came about, when men began to multiply on the face of the land, and daughters were born to them, that the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves, whomever they chose.”

Tov

Genesis 6:5–7 “Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. The Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. The Lord said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and to birds of the sky; for I am sorry that I have made them.””

Thesis: God’s grace is effectual, meaningful, and irresistible. God calls His people, and they respond. Not against your will, but God changes the will of man… from sin to righteousness and from rebellion to faith.

STARTING POINT: Both for the Jew and the Gentile (Paul)

Romans 3:10–18 “as it is written, “There is none righteous, not even one; There is none who understands, There is none who seeks for God; All have turned aside, together they have become useless; There is none who does good, There is not even one.” “Their throat is an open grave, With their tongues they keep deceiving,” “The poison of asps is under their lips”; “Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness”; “Their feet are swift to shed blood, Destruction and misery are in their paths, And the path of peace they have not known.” “There is no fear of God before their eyes.””

BUT: To the Disciples...

Matthew 13:16–17 ““But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear. “For truly I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.”

Read Text

The Seed

Parable is either referred to as...

“Parable of the Sower, Parable of the Seed, Parable of the Soil”

The Seed - The Word of God

The Gospel

The New Bible Dictionary, Third Edition Gospel

GOSPEL (Gk. euangelion, ‘good news’). In classical literature the word designated the reward given for good tidings. It also indicated the message itself, originally the announcement of victory, but later applied to other messages bringing joy. That it is found more than 75 times in the NT indicates a distinctly Christian connotation. The gospel is the good news that God in Jesus Christ has fulfilled his promises to Israel, and that a way of salvation has been opened to all. The gospel is not to be set over against the OT as if God had changed his way of dealing with man, but is the fulfilment of OT promise (Mt. 11:2–5). Jesus himself saw in the prophecies of Isaiah a description of his own ministry (Lk. 4:16–21).

Mark defines the ‘gospel of God’ in 1:14 (AV, following the Byzantine text, adds ‘of the kingdom’) as ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand’. To believe means salvation: to reject is damnation (Mk. 16:15–16). This same gospel is proclaimed by the first heralds of Christianity, but now the essential message is made more explicit by the death and resurrection of Jesus the Christ. While the gospel came with Jesus (the Christ-event is the gospel), it was anticipated in God’s promise of blessing to Abraham (Gal. 3:8) and promised in prophetic Scripture (Rom. 1:2).

The gospel not only comes in power (1 Thes. 1:5) but is the power of God (Rom. 1:16). It reveals the righteousness of God and leads to salvation all who believe (Rom. 1:16–17). Paul regards the gospel as a sacred trust (1 Tim. 1:11). Thus he is under divine compulsion to proclaim it (1 Cor. 9:16), and requests prayer that he may carry out his task with boldness (Eph. 6:19), even though this involves opposition (1 Thes. 2:2) and affliction (2 Tim. 1:8). The gospel is ‘the word of truth’ (Eph. 1:13), but it is hidden to unbelieving men (2 Cor. 4:3–4) who demand supernatural verification or rational proof (1 Cor. 1:21–23). Even as it was by revelation that the full theological impact of the gospel came to Paul (Gal. 1:11–12), so also it is by the response of faith that the gospel comes with saving power (Heb. 4:2).

“As we sit, our sin is an offense to God, but God loves us so much that He sent His Son to pay for the penalty for our sin so that we may have eternal life with Him, to His glory, offered to all who believe and trust this.

The Kingdom of Heaven is at Hand

Salvation Draws neigh

Redemption, freedom are offered to you

Isaiah 52:7 “How lovely on the mountains Are the feet of him who brings good news, Who announces peace And brings good news of happiness, Who announces salvation, And says to Zion, “Your God reigns!””

Sower is liberally spreading this seed

Q: Why would the Sower be so careless with His seed?

Is the Gospel really effective? If the soil can reject the seed?

The Soil

The Crux of the parable

The production of the seed depends on the condition of the soil

Types of soil is laid out in the explanation.

Road - Gospel doesn’t penetrate, Seed is not productive

Rocky Places - Seed barely penetrates, met with affliction, has nowhere to go

Among the Thorns - Yield / Production is choked out by worldly desires -

Good Soil - Hears Word, Understands, bears fruit

Parable - Relatable story that tells of something greater

includes a dual meaning

Israelite - All too familiar with this

Terrain, method of harvest

Method: liberally spread seed on all ground, then till. Manage the soil after the seed is sown.

Who, then, is the seed manager?

Sower

1 Peter 1:10–12 “As to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you made careful searches and inquiries, seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow. It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, in these things which now have been announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things into which angels long to look.”

Purpose is Served :

The condition of your heart will determine your response to the Word of God / Gospel

Your condition is helpless until your heart is conditioned. (Soil needs work)

When it is turned toward Him, you are helpless to reject

Here is were the analogy breaks down:

Our Father is the Sower

Christ is the Seed

The Holy Spirit is the Tiller

You are the Soil, all of it.

If you understand it, it is time to bear fruit.