“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.” (Luke 8:15 NKJV).
Beloved, many of us are familiar with the Parable of the Sower, which was told by our Lord Jesus Christ. (see Matthew 13:1-23; Mark 4:1-20; Luke 8:4-15). There is a very important lesson in this parable that I want us to reflect on, and the lesson is: KEEPING THE WORD OF GOD IN YOUR HEART, AND BEARING FRUIT WITH PATIENCE. There is so much to say about this, so we will divide this teaching into a four-part series. The Parable of the Sower basically reveals the different ways in which people receive the Word of God or the Word of the Kingdom into their heart when they hear it. In this parable Jesus likens the Word of God to a SEED (see Mark 4:14, with Luke 8:5, 11) that is being sown by a sower into the ground (the ground in this context being the hearts of men/humans). Jesus identifies four (4) different ways in which people respond to the seed or the Word of God as it is sown into their hearts (that is, preached, taught, or read). Jesus says that for some people, the Word does not even get the chance to take root in their heart, let alone bear fruit, because they hear it without UNDERSTANDING it, thereby allowing the devil to immediately come and take away the Word out of their heart, LEST THEY SHOULD BELIEVE IT AND BE SAVED. (see Matthew 13:19, with Luke 8:12). In this First Part of our series we will focus on this category of hearers of the Word of God.
Jesus said, “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.” (Matthew 13:19 NKJV). So the emphasis here is on hearing the Word of God WITHOUT UNDERSTANDING IT. The Word of God will not profit you (or save you) until you UNDERSTAND it, and then BELIEVE it. And the Bible says that it is with the HEART that man UNDERSTANDS and also with the HEART that man BELIEVES (see Job 38:36; Isaiah 6:10, with Romans 10:10). In fact, it is impossible to believe a word that you don't understand. For instance, if you didn't understand English, and I read the message in this piece to you and asked you if you believed it, you would be lying if you said that you believed it, because you didn't even understand what I read to you. This is exactly what happens to those who hear the Word of God but do not understand it; they cannot mix the Word with faith, and so the Word will not save them or heal them; rather, the Word will be snatched away from their heart by the wicked one. This was what happened to the twelve apostles of Jesus when Jesus told them, on their way to Jerusalem, that He will be delivered to the Gentiles and will be mocked and insulted and spat upon; that they will scourge Him and kill Him, and THE THIRD DAY HE WILL RISE AGAIN (see Luke 18:32-33). The Bible says that the apostles “UNDERSTOOD NONE OF THESE THINGS; this saying was hidden from them, AND THEY DID NOT KNOW THE THINGS WHICH WERE SPOKEN.” (Luke 18:34 NKJV). Therefore, because they didn't understand the Word they heard, the devil came immediately and took away the Word out of their heart, LEST THEY SHOULD BELIEVE IT. Thus when Jesus was RAISED FROM THE DEAD ON THE THIRD DAY after His crucifixion and Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them reported to the apostles that Jesus was risen from the dead, the Bible says that “their words seemed to them like idle tales, and THEY DID NOT BELIEVE THEM.” (Luke 24:10-11 NKJV; see also Mark 16:11, 13). The apostles only believed it after Jesus presented Himself alive to them and opened their understanding to comprehend the Scriptures. (see Luke 24:36-53, with Mark 16:14-20; John 20:26-29).
Thus, the point we are making here is that you have to UNDERSTAND the Word of God when you hear it, before you can BELIEVE it and be saved. This is also the reason why the Holy Spirit had to send Philip to explain the Scriptures to the Ethiopian Eunuch. (see Acts 8:29-38). The Ethiopian Eunuch was reading the Scriptures alright, yet HE DID NOT UNDERSTAND WHAT HE WAS READING (see Acts 8:30-31). So Philip had to go and help him understand it, so that he could believe it and be saved. Indeed, it is not just hearing the Word, but also understanding the Word that brings faith for salvation. Hence the Book of Proverbs says, “Wisdom is the principal thing; Therefore get wisdom. And IN ALL YOUR GETTING, GET UNDERSTANDING.” (Proverbs 4:7 NKJV).
Again, Jesus says that when you hear the Word of God and do not understand it, Satan comes and immediately snatches the Word away from your heart, so that YOU CANNOT BELIEVE IT and be saved. It is almost as if you had never heard the Word. No wonder the Lord Jesus Christ, following His resurrection, opened the understanding of His disciples, that they might comprehend or understand the Scriptures. (see Luke 24:45). Jesus said that it has been given to us (His disciples) to KNOW THE MYSTERIES OF THE KINGDOM of heaven, but to those who are not saved or who are perishing, it has not been given. (see Matthew 13:11; Luke 8:10). 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.’” (Mark 4:12 NKJV).
Thus the apostle Paul says, “the message of the cross IS FOOLISHNESS TO THOSE WHO ARE PERISHING, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” (I Corinthians 1:18 NKJV). Again, Paul says that “THE NATURAL MAN (or the man who is not born again) DOES NOT RECEIVE the things of the Spirit of God, for THEY ARE FOOLISHNESS TO HIM; NOR CAN HE KNOW THEM, because they are spiritually discerned.” (I Corinthians 2:14 NKJV, brackets and emphasis mine). Yet again Paul says, “But even if our gospel is veiled, IT IS VEILED TO THOSE WHO ARE PERISHING, whose MINDS the god of this age HAS BLINDED, who DO NOT BELIEVE, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.” (II Corinthians 4:3-4 NKJV). And so, for the natural man to hear and understand the Word of God, he needs guidance and explanation from a preacher (someone who is born again, and is mature or spiritual), which is what Philip was to the Ethiopian Eunuch, and Peter was to Cornelius’ household (see Acts 10). Paul said, “For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!” But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our report?” So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Romans 10:13-17 NKJV).
Indeed, faith comes by hearing the Word of God, but there are many who hear the Word of God and still do not believe it. So, for the natural man to truly understand and believe the Word that is preached, God has to open his heart (see Acts 16:14), and God, who searches the heart, knows those who are His (see 2 Timothy 2:19), He knows those who are searching for Him with all their heart (see Jeremiah 29:13), He knows those who have a broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart, He knows those who are appointed to eternal life. Hence, Jesus said, “All those the Father gives Me WILL COME TO Me, and whoever comes to Me I will never drive away.” (John 6:37 NIV). Then He added, “NO ONE can come to Me UNLESS the Father who sent me DRAWS THEM, and I will raise them up at the last day. It is written in the Prophets: ‘They will all be taught by God.’ EVERYONE who has heard the Father and learned from Him COMES TO ME.” (John 6:44-45 NIV).
Again, you have to be truly born again to be able to understand the mysteries of the Kingdom of heaven. You have to have the Spirit of God in your heart (which every born-again person has -- see 1 Corinthians 12:13; Ephesians 1:13; 2 Corinthians 1:21-22) before you can receive the things of the Spirit of God, before you can know the things which have been freely given to us by God (see 1 Corinthians 2:12). But even for the born-again person, when you are still a babe, or when you have not yet matured in the things of God, it can be challenging for you to know or understand the deep mysteries of the Kingdom of heaven (see Hebrews 5:11-14; 1 Corinthians 3:1-3), which is why God promised and said, “And I will give you SHEPHERDS according to My heart, WHO WILL FEED YOU WITH KNOWLEDGE and UNDERSTANDING. (Jeremiah 3:15 NKJV). Indeed, God has fulfilled His promise and given some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers in the Church to facilitate our understanding and our growth in the knowledge of God (see Ephesians 4:11-16). The apostle Paul also prayed “that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, THE EYES OF YOUR UNDERSTANDING BEING ENLIGHTENED; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints” (Ephesians 1:17-18 NKJV). Thus as a born-again person, to know and understand all the deep mysteries of the Kingdom, you have to grow in your fellowship with the Holy Spirit (whom you have received into your heart), and grow also in your receptiveness to His teachings, you have to consistently yield to the leading and teachings of the Holy Spirit (the Spirit of truth) who is in you. (see 1 John 2:20, 27). You have to yield to the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of God.
In Part 2 of this series, we will continue our discussion by unveiling the revelation in the seed that “fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth.” (Matthew 13:5). Please return to this Page in two days to read Part 2, for I am confident that by the end of this series you will understand how having heard the Word with a noble and good heart, you can keep it and BEAR FRUIT WITH PATIENCE. Remain blessed.
I share this message, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.” (Romans 1:16 KJV).
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