I would like to bring some things out and give you something to think about. In the first part of Matt:13 the bible tells a parable about a sower sowing seed. At the end of the parable it says, "he that has an ear, let him hear". What this parable is talking about, is the word of god. The seed is the word.In this parable it tells about four types of ground. The way side, stoney ground, thorny ground, and good ground.
Mat 13:3 And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow;
Mat 13:4 And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up:
Mat 13:5 Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth:
Mat 13:6 And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. Mat 13:7 And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them:
Mat 13:8 But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.
Mat 13:9 Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
The thing that struck me about this parable is that some things will grow in any environment. It does not say anything about the ground being bare, it just says this particular seed dont take to these places.
In Matt 13:4, the wayside is the side of a path, or road. I have never seen a way side that was not covered in weeds. It seems the things that do grow on the way side, are the things nobody wants in an actual garden. Gardeners take a lot of time to get rid of the weeds in a garden. In this verse it is talking about the way side being the heart of man that hears the word, and does nothing with it. He hears the word, but allows the devil to take the word from him. He does not protect the word.
In Matt 13:5, the seed falls upon the stoney ground. If you look at the rocky mountains, you will see it has vegetation of some kind in places all around the mountains. Once again, something is going to grow in these places, even if it is not beneficial to us. Here there is no deepness of root in the seed, and the sun burns it up. This is the hypocrites that hear the word, but dont let it get deep in their heart. As soon as they face a difficulty, they turn away from the word, or find an easier way.
In Matt 13:7 the seed falls upon thorny ground. Here is where it gets tricky. The reason the seed dont take root, is because something is already growing there so thick it chokes out the seed. The thorns here are worldly hinderences. If you look up thorns, you will find there are many, many types of thorns. There are thorny trees, thorny bushes, thorny flowers, thorny weeds, thorny whatever. There are thorny things people grow on purpose. Here is a good example, one of the most common flowers grown are roses and, there are several different types of roses grown.
Matt. 13:8 this seed found good ground and brought forth fruit. Some a hundred fold, some sixty fold, and some thirty fold. This is also true if you are sowing seed for bad fruit.
Gal 5:19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
Gal 5:20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
Gal 5:21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
Gal 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
Gal 5:23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
Gal 5:24 And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
Gal 5:25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
1Jn 2:16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
Eph 5:9 (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;)
Gal.5:19-21 tells about a few bad fruit seeds. How many of these seeds have you sown? The uncomfortable part of this scripture is at the end of 5:21 " that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God." People dont think about this. How many people do you know that takes part in adultery, uncleaness, fornication, drunkeness,envyings, hatred, and idolatry, that believe they are saved? This is not biblical. It plainly says they will not inherit the kingdom of God. These are some of the more common things of the day.
Idolatry is anything that is given priority over God. How many times have we missed church for a sporting event (the superbowl, nascar, playoffs, or anything else that kept you from God, or Gods will.) You can make anything an idol. We can make or house, car, money, or any other personal possession an idol.
Have you given any thought to marriage today? In the past , marriage meant something. people used to get married for life. Now people get divorced when they think they are missing out on life. What is the #1 reason for divorce today? ADULTERY. When people find somebody new they leave who they are supposed to be commited to for something different. It is no different, it is forbidden. When the new wears off, they will move on again. Part of the problem is what we see everyday.
You turn on the television and all you see is adultery, which leads to deception, lies,discontentment, dishonesty, etc. The list goes on. It all started with one thought. If you would not have allowed the dwelling in the mind, it would not have materialized in the heart. If it would not have found its way to the heart, it would not have materialized in the flesh. It all began with an image.
These are all seeds that have been sown. When we sit in front of the television, we are allowing a seed in our hearts. If that seed finds good ground it will bring forth fruit. It may not be a good fruit, but it seems that we fertilize it everyday with what we allow in our minds.
We always need to weed the garden in our minds, and lives. Everyone is growing some kind of garden. It is up to us to plant the desired fruit. It is easier to control the garden from the beginning than it is to wait 'til it is over run with weeds, then try to clean it out.
How can we expect to not have problems dealing with something, when we are feeding the problem? If you have a drinking problem, dont put yourself in a place where there will be alcohol. This is the same idea. If you have a problem with the lust of the flesh, and most of us do to some degree, dont pump it into your mind through the t.v., or radio, or even friends that are in your ear. We are accountable for ourselves. Lets make sure our gardens are full of good fruit.
A Gardener
J. Loveless
