Good Ground

Scripture

Reference:” Luke 8:4-15, Matt 13:1-23, Mark 4:1-20

Luke 8:4–5 NKJV

4 And when a great multitude had gathered, and they had come to Him from every city, He spoke by a parable: 5 “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it.

Luke 8:6–7 NKJV

6 Some fell on rock; and as soon as it sprang up, it withered away because it lacked moisture. 7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it.

Luke 8:8 NKJV

8 But others fell on good ground, sprang up, and yielded a crop a hundredfold.” When He had said these things He cried, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”

Luke 8:9–10 “9 Then His disciples asked Him, saying, “What does this parable mean?” 10 And He said, “To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is given in parables, that ‘Seeing they may not see, And hearing they may not understand.’”

Luke 8:11–12 “11 “Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. 12 Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.”

Luke 8:13–14 “13 But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away. 14 Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity.”

Luke 8:15 “15 But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience.”

Introduction:

Jesus used parables that required careful listening and a searching heart. If we are going to truly embrace and spread the gospel, we must have and honest and careful inventory of ourselves. The truth was hidden from people who already had a made up mind. Similarly, to receive all God has this morning, we have to be completely open for the word and the spirit to direct our lives. Realistically many people live, exist and are content in delusion..

For those who are able to hear, Jesus is unlocking Kingdom principles about the sewing of the gospel. First of all notice the farmer is not carefully placing the seed. He is liberally spreading to find whatever, “good ground he can

The Hardened Heart

The seed that fell on hardened often walked and hardened paths could not get past the surface.

a dangerous condition. The seed can’t get in.

Stubborn

Rejecting the word

Power Principle: Most times we criticize the quality of the seed without evaluating the condition of the soil.

Whether the religious leaders grabbed hold of the gospel or not, the gospel was still potent.

Encouragement: Keep sowing seed even though some hearts may reject

There’s nothing wrong with your seed

You don’t need a new formula

You simply must spread as much seed as you can.

God’s mercy is evident as he offers his seed of gospel to even fall on the hardened heart who will reject. No one will be able to say He did not offer. We should therefore, share the gospel with every soul regardless.

2. The Shallow Heart

a. It is a disappointing condition where we start with fervor but cannot continue

This why discipleship and connection is so important. When the real heat shows up, if there are no deep roots we will wither.

Sporadic and temporamental

Easily excited but quickly discouraged in their walk and worship

Base the quality of the service on the quantity of the attendees.

These tend to only stay connected until things get difficult

The shallow look to God as a problem solver more than a sovereign Lord

3. The Thorny choked out Heart

They stay in environments that are parasitic. All the things you need for christian growth are overshadowed by their surroundings.

They always preoccupied with other things that take vital time and commitment from a wholehearted effort o follow Christ.

The cares of life, building, wealth etc

They did not reject the word. They failed to prioritize the gospel first!

4. The Heart that Receives the seed

I want to be good ground

Good ground not only receives seed, It reproduces!

Your Harvest can reveal your heart

The Ground is only productive because of the seed it receives. Without the seed of the sower the Land is still barren.