Matthew 13: 1-23 (NKJV)
The Parable of the Sower
13 On the same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the sea. 2 And great multitudes were gathered together to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.
3 Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying: “Behold, a sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them. 5 Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth. 6 But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away. 7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them. 8 But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9 He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”
The Purpose of Parables
10 And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?”
11 He answered and said to them, “Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. 12 For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. 13 Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.14 And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says:
‘Hearing you will hear and shall not understand,
And seeing you will see and not perceive;
15 For the hearts of this people have grown dull.
Their ears are hard of hearing,
And their eyes they have closed,
Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears,
Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn,
So that I should heal them.’
16 But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear; 17 for assuredly, 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.
The Parable of the Sower Explained
18 “Therefore hear the parable of the sower: 19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside. 20 But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; 21 yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles. 22 Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful. 23 But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.”
Sometimes we have to ask, where am I planted? Am I by the wayside? In stony places? Among the thorns? Or on good ground?
Theme: Going Higher & "Everything is possible, the impossible just takes longer"~ Dan Brown
Lesson #5:
Life has so many daily lessons and sometimes we try to figure the lessons out on our own. I continue to learn that God should be my focus and questions that I have, I can ask Him. He will answer and sometimes in ways I wouldn't expect the answer to come from. I recently had a situation where I could have tried to handle things on my own and I don't know how things would have turned out. Yet, instead a took a step back and asked God to help me with the situation. Within 5 days God took care of everything. I thought to myself, how is it that God continues to bless me? What have I done to deserve this? And I thought about the parable of the sower. I thought about, where am I planted? Daily I seek to see God, to hear God, and to understand Him. As I seek God, he keeps me in fertile soil and allows my life to have overflow and I am so grateful for His love.
May/June 2015: Task #5
This month, let's ask God to place us in fertile soil. Ask God for eyes to see Him, ears to hear Him, and a heart and mind to understand Him. Ask God for His overflow!!! He will do it!
God Bless!
love, peace, and courage,
the gyvonni project
