An Appointment with Christ: the Parable of the Sower (Matthew 13:1), Part 7

On this occasion, my purpose is to conclude this study of the parable of the sower. I believe we will agree that there are some wonderful teachings contained in this brief parable. That is what excites me about the Word of God: it is so rich, so multifaceted. You study it and study it; you dig into it and search, and you always find something new, something wonderful that edifies us.

When I began studying this parable in these radio messages, I really did not think it would take me so long to expound it, but I am amazed at the richness it contains and at how much benefit can be drawn from it. And brothers and sisters, that is what the Word of God is like: it is a deep and wide sea from which we can draw ever greater benefit as the Holy Spirit works more and more in our lives.

I can tell you, my brothers and sisters, that I have read so many books throughout my life. I have devoted many years of my life to reading the great works of literature, science, philosophy, and sociology written by men, but I have never found a book as rich, as wonderful, as beautiful as the Word of God. It has edified my life in so many precious ways. In the Word of God, I have found counsel for every problem and every difficulty in my life. I have learned to delight in the Word of God.

The person who loves the Word of God and receives it not as the word of man, but as the divine Word, as the revelation of the Creator of the universe who wants to teach us, counsel us, and guide us along paths of righteousness—the person who welcomes the Word with reverence and joy—will be blessed; that person will walk the paths of life profitably. He will grow, as the psalmist says, like a cedar in Lebanon: “Those planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish; even in old age they shall bear fruit; they shall be vigorous and green,” the Word says, “to proclaim that the Lord, my strength, is upright and that there is no injustice in Him.” Certainly, the person who receives the Word of God in this way—the seed of the Gospel with reverence, love, humility, and obedience—is truly blessed, because the Word of God, as it itself says, is living and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword. When the Word of God enters our hearts, it always accomplishes the work for which God sends it; it never returns to Him empty. It may enter to condemn or to save, depending on how it is received, but it will always accomplish the work for which God sent it. And when we are fertile soil, receptive soil, welcoming soil, the Word of God enters and becomes a source of blessing that bears its fruit in due season.

We walk through the years of life and will always be blessed; we will go from one level of growth to another. As the Word says, “The path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until the day is perfect.” If you treasure the Word of God, if you receive God’s seed with reverence, love, and humility, you are going to be a tremendously blessed person.

This parable was designed to foster in us a sense of reverence toward the Word of God. It saddens me to realize that there are so many people who will hear these very messages I am preaching. They will pause for a minute to listen to something I am saying, but then their hand will return to the radio dial, they will change the station, and they will forget that word of calling they received from God for a moment. They will return to their cares, they will return to their pleasures, they will return to their obsessions and addictions, and they will have lost the wonderful opportunity that was offered for a moment in their lives because they underestimated the Word of the Lord and did not receive it with reverence and love. They may have lost their only opportunity to become truly happy. They will continue with their struggles, their mistakes, their problems, their difficulties, their disappointments, and their dead ends because, when God visited their lives through the Word, through the seed of the Gospel, they did not discern that it was the voice of God—and that is sad. As we see here, most people are like the three out of the four kinds of soil that were barren—but glory to the Lord.

The Lord Jesus Christ says that, finally, some seed fell on good soil and bore fruit, some a hundredfold, some sixtyfold, and some thirtyfold. The Lord says: “But the seed sown on good soil is the one who hears and understands the Word, and bears fruit, producing a hundredfold, sixtyfold, and thirtyfold.”

My brother, I want to be—and I want you to be—like that good soil which receives the Word of God and understands it. I like that expression: “This is the one who hears and understands the Word.” If you have tuned in to these messages, have devoted time to hearing what has been preached, and have taken time to reflect on what you have heard, then you are already on your way to becoming good soil.

The Bible says that faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. The first step you must take toward becoming a child of God is to hear, to listen, to pause for a moment and meditate on the Word of God. Many people do not enter the life of faith because they do not give the Word an opportunity to enter their hearts and begin to do a work there. Some people, because they did not become enthusiastic the first time they heard the message, say, “I’m not interested; I’m not going to devote any more time to that.” Or, because they sometimes have difficulty entering into that level of holy living that God desires, they lose heart and become discouraged and say, “This isn’t for me,” instead of devoting time to the Lord and allowing that Word to continue doing a work in them. We must hear the Word, and then we must understand it, asking the Holy Spirit to give us an understanding of the Word, because we will not understand it through our own minds alone.

And finally, we must bear fruit; that is, we must obey and put into practice what we hear. In that way, we can then be children of God, and that bearing of fruit comes through the presence of the Holy Spirit within you when you allow Christ to enter your heart as Lord and Savior.

May God grant that you be like those who treasure the Word of God, who hear it, understand it, obey it, and bear fruit in different measures. May God bless you, and I hope that this parable and the explanation we have given have been as great a blessing to you as they have been to my own soul. Until next time. Roberto Miranda bids you farewell.

This has been a presentation of Lion of Judah Ministries. If you would like more information about this production, please call 617-541-4455. You may also visit our website at www.leondejuda.org, or visit us at 68 Northampton Street in Boston, one block from Boston Medical Centre.