The Seed and the Soil

Mark 4:1–20 NKJV

And again He began to teach by the sea. And a great multitude was gathered to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat in it on the sea; and the whole multitude was on the land facing the sea. Then He taught them many things by parables, and said to them in His teaching: “Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. And it happened, as he sowed, that some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds of the air came and devoured it. Some fell on stony ground, where it did not have much earth; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of earth. But when the sun was up it was scorched, and because it had no root it withered away. And some seed fell among thorns; and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no crop. But other seed fell on good ground and yielded a crop that sprang up, increased and produced: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.” And He said to them, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” But when He was alone, those around Him with the twelve asked Him about the parable. And He said to them, “To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; but to those who are outside, all things come in parables, so that ‘Seeing they may see and not perceive, And hearing they may hear and not understand; Lest they should turn, And their sins be forgiven them.’ ” And He said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? The sower sows the word. And these are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown. When they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts. These likewise are the ones sown on stony ground who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with gladness; and they have no root in themselves, and so endure only for a time. Afterward, when tribulation or persecution arises for the word’s sake, immediately they stumble. Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word, and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. But these are the ones sown on good ground, those who hear the word, accept it, and bear fruit: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.”

The Seed (Illustration: Bag of seed)

A seed is a potential miracle

Filled with the potential of life, growth, blossoming, and fruitfulness.

The seed contains God’s plan for everything it will become.

Genesis 1:11 NKJV

Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth”; and it was so.

God planted seeds—He planted the Garden of Eden!

Genesis 2:8–9 NKJV

The Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed. And out of the ground the Lord God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

The seed can do nothing if it stays in the bag.

The Soil

The seed planted in the soil changes everything.

The seed becomes one with the soil. The shell opens and joins itself to the soil through roots.

The roots draw life from the soil.

Life, purpose, and potential are all activated when the seed becomes one with the soil.

Spiritual Seed

The word of God is spiritual seed.

The word of God is a potential miracle. It contains the potential of God.

The word of God contains everything inside to produce God’s plan.

The word of God can do nothing if it stays in the bag of the Bible.

Spiritual Soil

The soil is the human heart.

When the seed of God’s word becomes one with the soil of the human heart, the life, purpose, and potential of God are all activated.

Hindrances to Potential

Satan

The devil does not want the seed of God’s word to get root in your heart.

The devil will sow pride, doubt, unbelief, and rebellion to keep the seed from gaining any ground in the heart.

Hard times

Persecution, tribulations, hard times, resistance, sacrifice

These things stunt the root system and make it unable to endure.

Distractions

Cares of the world, deceitfulness of riches, and desires for other things are allowed to enter the soil of the heart.

They grow and choke out the potential of the word of God in the heart.

Ingredients of Potential

Ears to hear the word of God

Embracing the word of God

They do not let the devil steal the word from their heart. They allow their heart to be made one with the Seed.

Enduring hard times

Eliminating distractions

Bearing fruit

They allow the miracle and potential of the seed to manifest in its fullness!

These bear FRUIT—some thirty-fold, some sixty-fold, and some one-hundred-fold.

Response to the Word

Do you have ears to hear?

Will you embrace God’s word in faith?

Are you prepared to endure the hard times?

Are you willing to rid your life of distractions?

Are you ready to see the full potential of God’s word unleashed in your life?