Matthew 13:18-23 (NKJV): “Therefore hear the parable of the sower: 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.
But he who received seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; 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.
Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.
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.”
GOD LOVES US, and GOD’s WORD is the seed sown in the soils of our hearts, and these are the soils: the HARD HEART (seed received by the wayside), the SHALLOW HEART (seed received on stony places), the STRANGLED HEART (seed received among thorns), and the OPEN HEART (seed received on the good ground).
Out of the hardened heart, the shallow heart, the strangled heart, and the open heart, the only soil that receives the seed of GOD’s WORD and produces the FRUIT of the SPIRIT (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness, goodness, gentleness, and self-control), some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty is found ON THE GOOD GROUND—in the OPEN HEART—one surrendered, redeemed, saved, delivered, and offered freely to GOD’s WORD, GOD’s SPIRIT, GOD’s WILL, GOD’s PURPOSE, GOD’s PLAN, GOD’s SON—JESUS CHRIST.
So then, our faith is not just planted in the seed sown, which is the WORD of the KINGDOM—the WORD of GOD—but it’s rooted deeply in the GOOD and FRUITFUL soil of every SOULED-OUT believer’s heart.
So, the real heartfelt questions are these: On what kind of soil has the seed sown—GOD's WORD—fallen in our lives? In what kind of heart has it been received?
