THE FERTILITY OF THE HEARTS AND THE WORD

On the same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the sea.
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.
Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying: “Behold, a sower went out to sow.
And as he sowed, SOME SEED FELL BY THE WAYSIDE; and the birds came and devoured them.
SOME FELL ON STONY PLACES, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth.
But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away.
AND SOME FELL AMONG THORNS, and the thorns sprang up and choked them.
BUT OTHERS FELL ON GOOD GROUND and yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.
He who has ears to hear, let him hear!
Matthew 13:1-9 (NKJV)
READ: Matthew 13:18-23

• The goal of a farmer when seeds are sown is the harvest.

God is the farmer in the story and His Word is the seed being sown to the heart of the people.
THE goal of the Farmer, God, is to harvest after a period of time.
The Word of God which you are hearing is meant to produce results in your life.
GOD expects a bountiful harvest of good character!

• The seed that fell on the hard path—footpath or wayside (Matthew 13:4)

Those who hear the Good News, the Word of God about the Kingdom, but could not understand it.
IT is not only they could not understand it, the evil or wicked one came and snatched the seed away from their hearts (Mathew 13:19).
If the Word of God has no place in your heart, you cannot grow and bear fruit.
You should treasure the Word of God. Do not treat it with triviality, rather let priority be given to it. Let it have a place in your heart, not the footpath or wayside of your heart: "I HAVE HIDDEN YOUR WORD IN MY HEART, that I might not sin against you" (Psalm 119:11 NLT).
Hard path, footpath or wayside of your heart could mean the condition of your heart and your attitude to the Word of God. The place you give to the Word of God in your Life.
Footpath also could mean, not giving consideration to the Word, being indifferent to the Word of God.
In most cases, those who are indifferent to the Word of God are the people who have their own plans, and they have purposed or determined to do whatever they wanted to do, thus they would not want God's involvement because they have rigidly planned what they wanted to do.
It may be difficult for such people to drop whatever they had planned to do, except they are dealt with by God [because God does resist the proud, due to the fact that being rigid and adamant is tantamount to pride]; when such meet resistance and opposition, they are made to be willing, and submissive to whatever God may want them to do (1 Peter 5:5; James 4:6).
When the Word of God takes the last place in your Life, it means it is at the Footpath or wayside, the devil can easily come and pick it away because you do not value it—you do not treasure it in the first place.
You can easily be deceived by the loyalists of the evil one, the devil—false prophets, false teachers who peddle false DOCTRINE, because you do not give any place or credibility to the Word of God (Acts 20:29-31).
If you hid His Word in your heart, you will overcome temptations and escape traps of the devil, and his agents—the humans who are loyal to him.

But there were also false prophets among the people, EVEN AS THERE WILL BE FALSE TEACHERS AMONG YOU, WHO WILL SECRETLY BRING IN DESTRUCTIVE HERESIES, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction.
AND MANY WILL FOLLOW THEIR DESTRUCTIVE WAYS, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed.
BY COVETOUSNESS THEY WILL EXPLOIT YOU WITH DECEPTIVE WORDS; for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction does not slumber."
Peter 2:1-3 (NKJV)

• The rocky soil or stony places (Matthew 13:5,20)

The rocky soil represents those who heard the message or the Word, received it with Joy and enthusiasm, but the fact that they are not rooted in God themselves, they easily fall away as soon as they are persecuted, or they experienced tribulations because of the Word (Matthew 13:20,21).
The plant on the shallow soil with underlying rock can not go deep—the root cannot go deeper because of the rock underneath, thus it cannot be strong.
If you make your heart Stony, you do not allow the Word, that is, you are not opened to the Word of God; you may not be established and grow in the knowledge of God.
WHEN persecution arises because of the Word, you may not be able to resist and withstand it—because your heart is Stony, it does not accommodate the Word of God.
IN Christian journey as you started learning about God and His Kingdom, and you want to put the Word to practice, you will definitely face opposition and tribulations (2 Timothy 3:12).
The Blessings of the Kingdom, as they were, are gotten through the practice of the Word of God (James 1:22,25).
ALBEIT, when you attempt to practice the Word, or do it, you will be challenged by the devil (Revelation 12:17).
When you newly received the Word and you become a believer in Christ Jesus, you may not have to persevere much in prayer to receive whatever you ask from God, however, persecutions and tribulations will come as time goes on.
AT the babyhood stage of your Christian life, you receive virtually whatever you ask from God in prayer because you are an infant, but with time, God will allow the Word which you have received to be tried and tested through challenges and persecutions (James 1:2-4).
The truth is, the Word of God that you received shall be tested or proved.
PERSECUTION and tribulations will arise because of the Word: "YES, AND ALL WHO DESIRE TO LIVE GODLY IN CHRIST JESUS WILL SUFFER PERSECUTION" (2 Timothy 3:12).
The more you grow in the Word of God, and the higher you get in the things of the Spirit; the more the challenges and persecutions you face (Acts 6:8-13).
Knowledge provokes opposition, and the anointing attracts attacks (Acts 6:8-13).
THE HIGHER the working knowledge of the Word you have, and the anointing of the Holy Spirit on your Life; the tougher the challenges from the kingdom of darkness (2 Corinthians 4:10,11).
THE devil would want to fight against the Word and resist your progress in the things of God—the Kingdom.

• The thorny grounds, the seeds that fell among the thorns (Matthew 13:7)

Those who received the Word among the thorns allowed the cares of this world [the worries of this life], and lures of wealth [deceitfulness of riches] to choke the Word, and they become UNFRUITFUL (Matthew 13:22).
If you give priority to the things of the world than the spiritual things: the Word of God, prayer, and other spiritual exercises that will enhance your spiritual growth—you may not go far in the Kingdom.
The care of life and love of wealth have made many lose their salvation, or their places in God: "DEMAS HAS DESERTED ME [Paul] BECAUSE HE LOVES THE THINGS OF THIS LIFE AND HAS GONE TO THESSALONICA" (2 Timothy 4:10).
READ: 1 Timothy 6:5; 1 John 2:15-17
Salvation, that is, redemption of your soul, and the call of GOD on your Life are much more important than any worldly achievement or attainment (Philippians 3:7,8).
Whatever you achieve or get when you are not in God, OR when you go astray from Him can lead to destruction: "FOR WHAT PROFIT IS IT TO A MAN IF HE GAINS THE WHOLE WORLD, AND LOSES HIS OWN SOUL? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?" (Matthew 16:26)
NOTHING in the world is greater than the salvation of your soul, that is, your relationship with God, and the assignment given you by God.
THE salvation of your soul is more than the whole world (Mark 8:36).

• The fertile soil, good ground (Matthew 13:8)

The fertile or good soil represents those who's hearts received the Word of God and allowed it to germinate, grow up and mature, and produced results, that is, the harvest (Matthew 13:23).
THE Word of God in your heart is expected to produce huge harvest.
You are the one who determines the kind of heart with which you receive the Word.
YOU can make your heart a footpath or wayside heart; Rocky and stony heart; thorny heart; or good and fertile heart.
Your heart, that is, your Life is expected to produce huge harvest of hundred, sixty, and thirty TIMES.

“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.
EVERY BRANCH IN ME THAT DOES NOT BEAR FRUIT HE TAKES AWAY; AND EVERY BRANCH THAT BEARS FRUIT HE PRUNES, THAT IT MAY BEAR MORE FRUIT."
John 15:1,2 (NKJV)
READ: John 15:16

• You will not fail in Jesus' name.
Peace!