I hope you will bear with me as we continue with the teaching on good soil. You see that’s something that Dave and I know a lot about.
In the early 1980’s we farmed 900+ acres of alfalfa on the Gila River west of Phoenix. The ranch had perfect conditions for growing a bumper crop. Rich river loam soil, plenty of water and the warm AZ sunshine. That plus hard work, long hours all covered with prayer produced a crop that was hard to believe.
That’s when I learned first-hand the practicality of the principle Jesus was teaching His disciples on planting God’s word in good soil.
God’s word is called an incorruptible seed, our hearts are the soil and Jesus provides the “Son-shine” and rivers of living water to make the seed grow.
“And the seeds that fell on the good soil represent honest, good-hearted people who hear God’s word, cling to it, and patiently produce a huge harvest.” Luke 8:15 NLT
“You have been given a new birth. It was from a seed that cannot die. This new life is from the Word of God which lives forever.” I Peter 1:23 NLV
“The Holy Writings say that rivers of living water will flow from the heart of the one who puts his trust in Me.” John 7:38 NLV
Jesus worked continually to bring seed to the hearts of the people who followed Him. He would teach for hours and days to see that the seed of the Good News of the Gospel was planted in soil (hearts) that had been prepared to receive.
He encountered hard, stony and even thorny ground among his closest disciples but the longer he tended the soil of their hearts the more productive it became. The harvest in the life of the disciples was so productive that the seed sown is being used to produce a crop of faith in our lives.
Let’s look at what happened after Jesus preached this message. Luke 8:22-25 the thorny hearts of the disciples thought they were going to drown at sea. Luke 8:26-38 the good soil of the demoniac received his deliverance, but the hard heart of the pig farmers told Jesus to leave their area.
Luke 8:40-56 the seed of hope and healing was sown into the hearts of a woman who had a bleeding condition for 12 years and also in a father whose daughter was so sick she died. Both hearts reaped a harvest of healing and restoration.
Luke 9:1-6 the disciples’ hearts received the seed of God’s power and they went to the neighboring towns and cities preaching and healing.
Luke 9:10-17 Jesus was sowing seed in the lives of 5000 men and their families. Their hearts were prepared however, the hearts of the disciples were thorny and they let the size of the crowd steal the word, the seed, that Jesus gave them. But there was one boy whose heart was open and he shared his lunch with Jesus. Jesus prayed, the disciples served and a miraculous harvest took place.
Jesus was, and still is, the sower who sows the seeds of faith into the fields of our hearts. As we prepared our hearts, His seed will produce a bumper crop!