Parable of the Sower

Parable of the Sower
Pastor Terry Wilcox

Matthew 13:1-23

Does God Talk to You?
“God whispers in my delights, speaks in my problems, and shouts in my perplexities.”

One truth is clear – God intends that His communications be expressed in my character and my actions.

To understand parables – note the players and the objects:

1. The farmer = Jesus
2. The seed = the message about the Kingdom
3. The soil = those hearing

In the Hebrew context – the heart is the seat of intelligent emotion and will.

Four conditions of the soil. Note the soil is essentially the same earth – it’s what had been added to it or what’s happened to it.

1. The soil of a path is packed hard. Matthew 13:4 & 9
   A. First application is to the Pharisees, but be careful there are hard-hearted people with hearing problems in churches today.
   B. When we have convictions we don’t live out, we block our sensitivity to hear further truth.
2. The second group is shallow hearted Matthew 13:5 & 20
   Remember the heart = intellect, emotions, and will.
   A. Emotional Christians – enthusiastic and expressive.
   B. Intellectual Christians – never allow Jesus Christ to deal with feelings.
   C. The rock under the thin layer of intellectual accent to faith is made of unresolved feelings,
        stunted emotions, and conflicting attitudes!

   Burned out Christians have roots stopped by the bed rock of the unsurrendered will, unrecognized emotions, or refusal to think through the scriptures.

3. Thorny soil 
   Matthew’s and Luke’s accounts of these parables indicate Jesus was speaking about the competitive loyalties of worry, riches, and pleasure.

   Worrying over an aspect of our life is a sure sign we are trying to accomplish our plan with our power.

4. The good soil is productive. Matthew 13:8 & 23
   Result of hearing is the transformation of our character.

   Galatians 5:22

   God does speak! We can hear Him – if we truly hear, we are motivated by love to produce the fruit of what we hear.

Personal Notes