Your heart good soil?

1 Corinthians 2:9 But, as it is written, "What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him"

The Parable of the Sower

Matthew 13:3 And he told them many things in parables, saying: "A sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. 5 Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, 6 but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away.7 Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. 8 Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9 He who has ears, let him hear."

A considerable amount of space in scripture is devoted to the Parable of the Sower. In all three of the Synoptic Gospels:

• Jesus tells the parable (Mathew 13, Mark 4 and Luke 8).

• He says "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."

• He explains why he speaks in parables

• He refers to Isaiah’s commissioning, when Isaiah answered the call (listens and responds) and then God sent him to a people that would not listen (Isaiah 6:8-10).

• then Jesus explains the parable

• and again exhorts us to really pay attention to what He was saying and offers additional parables to encourage us to “hear” His message.

There is something that the Lord really wants us to take to heart here and it is in some way important in understanding the rest of the parables.

• Mark 4:13 And he said to them, "Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables?

• "To you has been given the secret (or secrets) of the kingdom of God.”

Because the parable itself is about hearing, and responding, to the Word, I believe He is giving us a strong message about how our understanding of the word is intertwined with how we turn our hearts to him.

He is telling us we can and should become “good soil.” But he is telling us more than that. He is telling us how to become good soil. We can grow and shift in our perspective but this comes as a result of softening our hearts.

The seed is the Word of God, the Word of the Kingdom.

• Mark 4:14 The sower sows the word.

• Luke 8:11 Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.

Even though they were all given a message to their heart, those who don’t understand it have the message snatched away. I see this as “unconscious.”

• Mathew 13:19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path.

• Luke 8:12 The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. (see Hebrew 3:)

Those who are just in it for themselves, “self-conscious,” will not have the depth to endure real life. The Gospel will seem good to them at first but they will fall away at the experience of the “fellowship of suffering.”

• Matt 13:20 As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, 21 yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away.

• Luke 8:13 And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of testing (see Hebrews 3:8 ) fall away.

It is a higher place to focus on others, scripture exhorts us to be in real community, “socially conscious,” but when our identity comes from others …

• Matt 13:22 As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.

• Mark 4:18 And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, 19 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.

• Luke 8:14 And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature.

God-Dependent, Servant Leader, “higher consciousness”

• Matthew 13:23 As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty."

• Mark 4:20 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."

• Luke 8:15 As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience.

Take the Land I Have Given You

Scripture speaks to us on each of these levels

To some people it is giving a hard message, “wake up, you are going to burn in hell”

• Bridesmaids not prepared … and those who did not come to the Wedding feast being left out with gnashing of teeth

To some it is offering a Prosperity Gospel and so they think it is primarily about seeking a blessing, or just rescue (salvation).

To a person who is listening from the Interdependent or socially conscious place, scripture is communicating a social Gospel and is telling them how to serve; and they are wrestling with the impact of their interactions on the rest of the world.

Scripture tells us we can reach a place where we can sacrifice for the benefit of others, be servant leaders and share in the fellowship of the suffering of Christ. We can suffer well.

• Paul has the attitude of, whether I give or get as long as Christ is preached.

• Job 13:15Though he slay me, I will hope in him; yet I will argue my ways to his face.

• Luke 22 When you turn back… strengthen your brothers.

But it is not Jesus’ character to deliberately keep this from us. He is clearly asking us to do something that is in our best interest. He wants us to be good soil and he tells us to do this by looking to Him and softening our hearts.

• Luke 8:21 And he said to them, "Is a lamp brought in to be put under a basket, or under a bed, and not on a stand? 22 For nothing is hidden except to be made manifest; nor is anything secret except to come to light. 23 If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear." 24And he said to them, "Pay attention to what you hear: with the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and still more will be added to you. 25 For to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away."

Psalm 115 links the hardening of our hearing, seeing, feeling, etc. with where we put the attention or trust of our heart.

• Psalm 115:1 Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness! 2 Why should the nations say, "Where is their God?" 3 Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases. 4 Their idols are silver and gold, the work of human hands. 5 They have mouths, but do not speak; eyes, but do not see. 6They have ears, but do not hear; noses, but do not smell. 7 They have hands, but do not feel; feet, but do not walk; and they do not make a sound in their throat. 8 Those who make them become like them; so do all who trust in them.

Scripture meets us where we are at, but it doesn’t leave us there, it leads us to a higher place,

• Psalm 139:7 Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? 8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!

God has given us free will in our hearts and is giving us the opportunity for peace by softening our hearts and turning toward him to know His ways

• Hebrews 3:7 Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, "Today, if you hear his voice, 8 do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, on the day of testing in the wilderness, 9where your fathers put me to the test and saw my works for forty years. 10Therefore I was provoked with that generation, and said, 'They always go astray in their heart; they have not known my ways.' 11 As I swore in my wrath, 'They shall not enter my rest.'"

He tells us to watch out and not allow each other to grow hardened by lies that can rob us of our understanding and our peace. But join together in ways that grow that softness of heart that invites belief.

• Hebrews 3:12 Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. 13But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called "today," that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.

• Hebrews 3:14 For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end.15As it is said,"Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion." …18And to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, but to those who were disobedient?

• Hebrews 3:19 So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief.

“Take the land God has given you.” So this is a parable for our heart

• Deuteronomy 31:7 Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, "Be strong and courageous, for you shall go with this people into the land that the LORD has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall put them in possession of it. 8 It is the LORD who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed."

This Good News is still promised to us but we must do something inside that equates to uniting in faith and listening and believing.

• Hebrews 4:1 Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it. 2 For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened.

• Hebrews 4:3 For we who have believed enter that rest…

He again links our way out of disobedience is through the listening for His voice and softening of our heart toward Him.

• Hebrews 4:6 Since therefore it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news failed to enter because of disobedience, 7again he appoints a certain day, "Today," saying through David so long afterward, …."Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts."

This rest, this peace is for us but the writer of Hebrews takes care to make it clear it is not our works that gets us there but our believing that comes after we soften our hearts.

• Hebrews 4:8 For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken of another day later on. 9So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, 10for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his.

The “rest” that is trusting in God to use His word to show me my heart and bring me into peace by bringing me into the light.

• Hebrews 4:11 Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. 12For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

So he is telling us to rest SO THAT we may not fall into disobedience

Ezekiel 36:23-27: 26 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.