The Parable of the Sower, or the Parable of the Soils, is THE most important parable in the Bible. Why do I say this? Well, what we read in Mark chapter 4 (and in the part 1 post) is that Jesus said this particular parable is the key to unlocking all the parables. I believe this parable is one of the secrets of the Kingdom of God.
We also learned that the soil referenced in the parable is the soil of the heart. This is a huge revelation: that this is the soil of your heart.
Parable of the Soils
Let’s read Mark 4:1-20 again, and we have a few more points to make about this key to the Kingdom of God.
Again he began to teach beside the sea. And a very large crowd gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat in it on the sea, and the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land. And he was teaching them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them:
“Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it. Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil. And when the sun rose, it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away. Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. And other seeds fell into good soil and produced grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.” And he said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
And when he was alone, those around him with the twelve asked him about the parables. And he said to them, “To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables, so that ‘they may indeed see but not perceive, and may indeed hear but not understand, lest they should turn and be forgiven.’ And he said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables?
The sower sows the word. And these are the ones along the path, where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them. And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy. And they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away.
And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.” (Mark 4:1-20 ESV)
Where is this soil?
Like I mentioned earlier, the soil is soil of the heart. Did you know that you had soil in your heart? You have heart ground. And your heart grows spiritual plants. Things in your heart can block growth of spiritual plants, represented by hard ground or rocks.
In part 1, we talked in depth about God not only growing things in our hearts but God also writing things in our hearts.
“And you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.” (2 Corinthians 3:3 ESV)
The things written in your heart are very important. What do you have written in your heart? Do you know?
Speech as a Monitor of the Heart
One really good test is to monitor your speech. Why? Because of what Jesus taught in Luke 6. He gives another parable that now opens up because of the previous one.
For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit, for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thornbushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks. (Luke 6:43-45 ESV)
Did you catch that last line? “Out of the abundance of the heart our mouths speak.” What does that mean?
If negativity constantly comes out of our mouths, then we know there is negativity in our hearts. But if what is “true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, or praiseworthy” comes out of our mouths, then we know those things are in our hearts.
By the way, that list is from Philippians 4:8, and the instruction is for us to think about those things.
Now, how did these things get in our hearts? Let’s review the 4 types of soil that can be found in our own hearts. I believe any one of us can have all 4 types, and what you’ll see is that you’ve experienced every one of these.
Types of Soil
Let’s start by analyzing the 4 different types of soil found in the heart.
Hard Ground of the Path
Have you ever driven on a dirt road? Well, a proper dirt road done right has layers of fine rock laid down to prevent any plant growth. Any seeds that blow in on the road don’t grow. They just sit on the surface of the road. Birds and other animals see the opportunity for a quick meal, and they eat the seeds.
This is also a spiritual truth. Whenever we hear God’s words and we’re not ready for it, it’s like the devil or his demons come and take away what we’ve heard. It has no lasting effect in our hearts. It’s just “in one ear and out the other.” It doesn’t stick.
This is one of the reasons we have the phrase “hard-hearted.” It’s a Biblical phrase that means exactly that: the soil of your heart is so hard that you can’t hear the God’s-Honest-Truth.
The devil really wants us all to have hard hearts. It makes his job easier.
But guess what? It says in Romans 16:20, “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.” (Romans 16:20 ESV)
The cool thing about God is that He has more than enough seed. How foolish would it be for a farmer to buy a bunch of seed and then just scatter it on all types of ground, even the road that he drove his farm truck on? It’s foolishness! At least to our thinking, because in our experience, things are finite.
Not so with God. He’s infinite. He has no lack. He has an infinite amount of resources. So He is perfectly fine with spreading the seeds of His Word on ground that’s not prepped for it. That’s part of His mercy on this world. Every person, regardless of the condition of the soil of their hearts, gets a chance to hear God’s Word and God’s message and respond.
This Doesn’t Just Apply to God’s Word
This principle also applies to other things. Let’s say you hear from your doctor that you should quit smoking. If your heart is not prepared for the message, then you might dismiss the doctor quickly, thinking you’ll be fine, that your lungs are strong and can handle anything.
But then let’s say the consequences of smoking for decades has caught up to you. Then you hear your doctor tell you that you need to quit smoking. Now your heart ground has been tilled up a little bit, and you can actually receive the word, because you’re concerned about your health.
And that brings us to the next type of soil
The Rocky Ground
Do you remember what Jesus said about this group? He actually uses the most words to explain this type of heart soil.
“And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy. And they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away.” (Mark 4:16-17 ESV)
OK, so we have all experienced this.
When Cherise and I were first married and graduated from college, we lived with her dad for a few months while our house was being built. The apartment was right next to the Rio Grande river, and there was a great walking/biking path nearby. A family friend of ours was really into biking. In fact, he biked to and from work every single day, even after having a few accidents. And he had an extra bike. He let me borrow it along with some biking gear, and I went to WalMart and bought a bike headlight. I was so excited to start biking in the early morning hours before work.
Guess what? I went out like 2 times. And then the bike sat in the storage closet for a few months until our friend was like, “Hey, can I have my bike back?” I gave it back to him because I wasn’t ready for it.
MLM Example
Have you ever gone to a friend’s house for a party and come home signed up to sell something? Only to find that you don’t have much support from those who have been in this business longer than you. You try for a while but without support and training you fail.
Or perhaps you decide to get in shape and maybe even make a plan, but find you fizzle out quickly?
Both of these examples are because of a lack of discipleship. We need others in our lives to train us and keep us accountable. Without it we quickly get frustrated and quit. We may quit that MLM business you were so excited to start, that fitness regime you were determined to succeed at this time, or you may quit on your relationship with Jesus. We must have discipleship to grow. Who do you have mentoring you in your spiritual life? Who are you mentoring?
They have no depth
Jesus says this group has no root or depth of soil. Why? Well, lots of reasons. Perhaps there are many demons in their soul that take back over their lives. Perhaps there’s a lot of brokenness or trauma in their past that’s just too great to overcome by themselves.
And, like Cherise mentioned, these people need a community of Holy Spirit-filled Jesus followers to help disciple and teach them the ways of God.
Listen, if you are sensing that you have hard ground or rocks in your heart, let me tell you today that the Lord wants to work with you to remove those rocks and bring healing to your soul. That’s part of the salvation experience, something that Jesus paid for by His sacrifice on the cross for us.
The Thorny Ground
“And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.” (Mark 4:18-19 ESV)
Let’s say that you have decent soil in your heart. God’s Words get planted into the soil of your heart and start growing. This is good news! It means the Lord is working in your heart and life.
However, what can happen is that weeds start growing. You can think of weeds like small compromises that we make, sins that we participate in, grudges that we keep, bitterness we have, gossip that we engage in, unforgiveness. It’s also the pursuit of wealth instead of the pursuit of God. That’s called idolatry, where we seek out the idols of fame and fortune instead of the One True God and His Son Jesus Christ.
Word Curses
Cherise did a fantastic job in this post explaining about negative words that people speak over us. These are called “word curses.” Perhaps you’ve heard of them?
Phrases like, “You could never do that. You’ll never accomplish or amount to anything. You’re no good. You’re just a dirty rotten sinner. You can never change. Look what you did – it’s all your fault.” Many of those phrases are triggering to us because we’ve heard them… and believed them. Let me tell you that every single one of those phrases is a lie. It’s a curse.
Lord break these curses over us now in the Name of Jesus!
Also, when accusations come against us, they can hover over our lives, causing pain and disillusionment in our callings and mandates. Typically accusations come against our True Heavenly Identities, what God says about us. Most of the time, accusations are not true about us but are true about our accusers.
The Man Who Pointed the Finger
I may have shared this story before, but it illustrates this principle really well. In 2019, I was talking to a man from another church in the area, telling him about all the cool things I was learning about my true identity in Christ. I was talking to him about Ephesians chapter 1, where it says that we are holy, blameless, chosen, and blessed.
Now, I’m not sure if you’ve ever had a conversation with a person who is steeped in the spirit of religion, but they do not like to hear that God thinks of you as holy and blameless.
The man pointed his finger at me and said, “Don’t you think it’s prideful to think of yourself that way?” Before I could answer, we were interrupted, and we never went back to that conversation.
Later that night as I drove home, I asked the Lord out loud, “God, is it prideful to think in this way?” And do you know what the Lord said to me in that moment? He said, “Brett, he’s the one that’s struggling with pride.” This concept blew my mind!
Why was his thinking prideful and not mine? Because he thought he knew better than God in how he should think about himself. He was not in alignment with God’s intentions over his life. He believed a lie, and in believing a lie, he was coming into agreement with the accuser, satan, and then he voiced the accuser’s accusations towards me.
That’s a type of weed that can grow up in our hearts.
The Good Soil
“But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.” (Mark 4:20 ESV)
The Lord works with us and in us to prepare our hearts to hear His word.
All of us have good soil in our hearts. There are things that we have learned or have been taught that we have taken into ourselves, and it has produced really good fruit!
For most of us, salvation is that for us. We heard the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and we received Him into our hearts and made Him Lord and boss of our lives. He has transformed us and continues to transform us.
For others of us, we have taken a step into receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit. We’ve gone through a separate experience apart from salvation where the Holy Spirit has come over our lives in great measure. This happened for me in May of 2018 when the Holy Spirit gave me my first vision during prayer.
Good Soil Grows Positive Things
The good soil in our hearts has also grown other positive spiritual fruits. After Thanksgiving of last year, I finally decided to get back on Weight Watchers. My heart was finally ready to commit to it again. And guess what? I’ve lost 20 pounds since the weekend after Thanksgiving.
Some of you are on a healing journey, not just physically, but also emotionally, the healing of the soul. Your heart is getting healing from the traumas of the past, and you are starting to produce amazing fruit from that. The weeds and rocks of the past are getting removed one by one, and the soil of your heart is getting so good, that the beautiful spiritual plants from the Lord are growing in you.
More than 100-Fold
May all of you yield at least 100 times what was sown in you. I know it says 30, 60, and 100 times in the parable, but the Lord has shown me that it doesn’t just stop there. He’s interested in 1000x, 10,000x, 100,000x, 1,000,000x, and so on.
This isn’t really talking about money, but it isn’t not talking about money either. What He’s really talking about is spiritual fruit.
How many people will you ever have a conversation with in your lifetime? More than 100 people? If every one of those 100 people leave the conversation you have with them in a better state than you found them, then you have produced 100x fruit for God’s Kingdom.
And we all know that the Lord will bring way more than 100 people into our lives.
God is interested in His spiritual plants growing in your hearts. And it all starts with salvation.
Salvation comes from the Heart
Last verses for today:
“Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.” (Romans 10:9-10 ESV)
Many of you have read this from me before, but it bears repeating.
“If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”
It takes heart belief of the Lordship of Jesus and of his death and resurrection to be born again. This is the salvation (the Greek word for saved is sozo) or conversion experience that people talk about when they say they have become a Christian.
In the very next verse, a different word for “saved” is used, soteria in the Greek. It means deliverance.
“For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.”
After conversion or the new birth, a process of becoming more like Jesus starts. This process requires a new heart belief, and it also requires confession with your mouth.
Part of this process is physically renouncing lies you’ve believed and replacing them with truth. It involves using the Word of God as a weapon and as a declaration.
I’m going to pray through a prayer that a lady named Kendra McDonald wrote in 2018. It’s called Sowing the Heart Prayer.
Sowing the Heart Prayer
Father, I come boldly to your throne of grace to find grace and mercy in time of need. I thank you that your grace is the unmerited favor, your ability, your finished work, and the divine influence upon the heart. Thank you, King Jesus, for your presence and that you are the Lion of Judah, Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Prince of Peace, and the most Beautiful among 10 thousand. Thank you, Aleph and Tav, Beginning and End, First and the Last, Alpha and Omega, and that you are also Sower of hearts.
I thank you that your grace, your divine influence upon my heart is the sowing of your good work and seed around, over, and into my heart. I thank you that wayside territory in my heart where seed has been spilled is guarded by your warring angels, and I declare the seed left will not be gobbled up, eaten, nor spoiled by birds, ravens, nor demonic or other dark entities in Jesus’s name. The seed is the word of God, and I declare his seed and word goes forth and accomplishes that for which it was sent and does not return to you void, Jesus. I thank you that this seed knows its assignment and timing, bringing forth good fruit in due season.
I thank you for moving to break up any fallow or stony ground in my heart. I thank you for removing stumbling blocks, boulders, stones or other hardening material within and on the ground. Thank you for preparing the territory of my heart to be good soil. I thank you, Lion of Judah for sending your angels on assignment to pull up any weeds, tares, thorns, thistles or any other plants not bearing seed nor fruit. I thank you that any roots of bitterness, offense, hatred, wrath, and any other poison or lie-producing plant is pulled out. I thank you that the weeds and barren plants that do not belong within Your jurisdiction of my heart’s territory are burned in the fire of Jesus Christ.
Thank you for the good soil you produce in my heart. Thank you for sowing your seed, your word into my heart. Thank you for imprinting your character and identity onto my heart. I thank you for the living waters that flow through my heart, nourishing the good seed and vegetation you’ve planted there. Thank you for feeding the land your manna, providing all the proper nutrients and minerals and promoting vital life function. Thank you for infusing the land of my heart with your heavenly gold dust, enhancing the frequencies of your heart.
I thank you that these frequencies align and synchronize my essence to you. I declare your word which states that when God begins a good work on a person, he continues till the day of the Lord, and I declare this process unending and continuously progressing into more vitality, territory acquisition, and presence of Jesus through my entire being: body, soul, spirit, essences, and virtues. I seal this work with the Holy Spirit and declare it in the name of Jesus. Amen.
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