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Soil #2 – What’s Going on Below the Surface

May 23, 2021

SOIL #2

What’s Going on Below the Surface

The kind of soil you have will determine the kind of growth you see.

Luke 8:4-15 One day Jesus told a story in the form of a parable to a large crowd that had gathered from many towns to hear him: “A farmer went out to plant his seed. As he scattered it across his field, some seed fell on a footpath, where it was stepped on, and the birds ate it. Other seed fell among rocks. It began to grow, but the plant soon wilted and died for lack of moisture. Other seed fell among thorns that grew up with it and choked out the tender plants. Still other seed fell on fertile soil. This seed grew and produced a crop that was a hundred times as much as had been planted!” When he had said this, he called out, “Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.”

His disciples asked him what this parable meant. 10 He replied, “You are permitted to understand the secrets[a] of the Kingdom of God. But I use parables to teach the others so that the Scriptures might be fulfilled:

‘When they look, they won’t really see.
    When they hear, they won’t understand.’[b]

11 “This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is God’s word. 12 The seeds that fell on the footpath represent those who hear the message, only to have the devil come and take it away from their hearts and prevent them from believing and being saved. 13 The seeds on the rocky soil represent those who hear the message and receive it with joy. But since they don’t have deep roots, they believe for a while, then they fall away when they face temptation. 14 The seeds that fell among the thorns represent those who hear the message, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the cares and riches and pleasures of this life. And so they never grow into maturity. 15 And the seeds that fell on the good soil represent honest, good-hearted people who hear God’s word, cling to it, and patiently produce a huge harvest.

  • God’s Word is consistent, my heart is not.

We can focus on God’s promise or our circumstance -one leads to fruitfulness and the other to bareness.

Ezek 33:32 You are very entertaining to them, like someone who sings love songs with a beautiful voice or plays fine music on an instrument. They hear what you say, but they don’t act on it!

We can spend a lot of time scrutinizing the seed and we never examine the condition of the soil.

HOW’S YOUR HEART?

Prov 4:23 Guard your heart above all else,
    for it determines the course of your life.

  • A hard heart makes it difficult to recognize a hard heart.
  • Cynicism
  • Short fuse
  • Bitterness
  • Unforgiving spirit
  • Closed shut down
  • Unteachable
  • Expert on everything
  • Assume the worst
  • Resentment
  • Blame
  • Major loss
  • Defensiveness
  • Unmet expectations
  • Bad or weird church experiences

 

1. When I am misunderstood.

2. When I have been hurt in some way.

3. When I repeatedly feel like I am not enough.

 

You weren’t born with a hard heart – it develops over time.

Stop trying and start tilling.

 

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