Listen, you have only to listen. There is music on the wind.”
–Louis L’Amour (The Key-Lock Man)
“Then Paul stood up, and motioning with his hand said, ‘Men of Israel, and you who fear God, listen.'”
–Acts 13:16 (NKJV)
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We’ve had plenty of rain–did I say plenty? Now with that and the sunshine the grass (and weeds) are green and beginning to grow. We decided when we built a few years back that we wouldn’t plant grass but would let the natural species develop. It has taken a while, but the grass (and weeds) are finally rooted in. Grass doesn’t take much good soil, weeds can grow in any. But try to grow flowers, especially the domestic kind in hard soil, well, there just won’t be much success.
Jesus tells us a parable in Matthew 13 about the different types of soil and what grows from them. He describes planting seeds into four types of soil all of which, except one, are capable of producing plants and growth. Let’s look at one type of soil mentioned by the Master.
“…Behold, a sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them.” (Matthew 13:3-4, NKJV) Luke writes it this way, “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it.” (Luke 8:5, NKJV) Notice the type of soil, which is actually a representation of the human heart. This first heart is “hard and narrow like a path beaten across a field. A path is hardened by the traffic of human feet as they cross the field.” (Ray Stedman) It is hard, being packed down by the many feet that have crossed it.
Matthew 13:19, explains this first soil. These are people who hear the message of the Gospel, of the Kingdom, but they are like the hardened paths and they do not let the truth penetrate. The word comes, but they do not understand it, in fact, the real issue is that they do not try to understand it. Stedman says, “This could be called the materialistic heart, one that does not want to be bothered with thinking about anything beyond what you can see, hear, smell, touch, and taste.” This man heard the message, it fell, but something interrupted its flow to the heart and the man did not take the time to think upon it. In reality he does not really want to be bothered with it, so he shrugs it off. (Stedman) The birds come, snatch it away, and the seed that was offered to him is never recovered.
It is interesting to note that the soil represents the different types of people that hear it. It shows that there is not a uniform response of faith, but that it varied depending upon the soil. The NIV translates Luke 8:12, thusly, “Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved.” This ground was hard and there was no way for the seed to get in and take root. It was not prepared and not receptive to the seed (the Word of God). Barclay writes, “People can become so dull and heavy and blunted in mind that when God’s truth comes to them they cannot see it. It is not God’s fault. They have become so mentally lazy, so blinded by prejudice, so unwilling to see anything they do not want to see, that they have become incapable of assimilating God’s truth.” This is the hard mind, the hard heart–a heart that is shut out to the things of God.
The seed was sown, but it never took root because the man did not take the time to let it germinate. He was too hard, too busy, or too disinterested. Then the seed is snatched away. That is a dreadful thought–the seed snatched away never to return. Oh, friend, when the Lord sows His seed be quick to respond. There may be a momentary impression, the conviction of the Holy Spirit is there, but, but…. “It is immediately shrugged off as different, awakening the possibility of a world foreign to him. So he sets it aside, the enemy comes and takes it away, and it is gone.
Listen, for as Paul said, “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” (2 Corinthians 6:2, NKJV) This is a serious, foreboding message from God’s Word. The heart is there, the seed is there, what is lacking is the acceptance. Harbuck writes this of Luke 8:12, “Those [seeds] that fell along the footpath represent those who hear [the Word–Message], but the devil comes and takes away (steals away, snatches away) the Word out of their hearts (minds), so they may not believe and trust Me as their Redeemer and be saved [from their sins].”
It seems that this may not only be true for individuals, but for nations, people as well. When you read the Old Testament it is plainly seen that people, as a whole, fall away, hardened their hearts, and refuse to receive the Word of God. But the Holy Spirit gives warning through the words of Paul in the New Testament as well. “Go to this people and say: ‘Hearing you will hear, and shall not understand; and seeing you will see, and not perceive; for the hearts of the people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they should understand with their hearts and turn so that I should heal them.'” (Acts 28:26-27, NKJV)
“Then Paul stood up, and motioning with his hand said, ‘Men of Israel, and you who fear God, listen.'”
–Acts 13:16 (NKJV)
————————————–
We’ve had plenty of rain–did I say plenty? Now with that and the sunshine the grass (and weeds) are green and beginning to grow. We decided when we built a few years back that we wouldn’t plant grass but would let the natural species develop. It has taken a while, but the grass (and weeds) are finally rooted in. Grass doesn’t take much good soil, weeds can grow in any. But try to grow flowers, especially the domestic kind in hard soil, well, there just won’t be much success.
Jesus tells us a parable in Matthew 13 about the different types of soil and what grows from them. He describes planting seeds into four types of soil all of which, except one, are capable of producing plants and growth. Let’s look at one type of soil mentioned by the Master.
“…Behold, a sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them.” (Matthew 13:3-4, NKJV) Luke writes it this way, “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it.” (Luke 8:5, NKJV) Notice the type of soil, which is actually a representation of the human heart. This first heart is “hard and narrow like a path beaten across a field. A path is hardened by the traffic of human feet as they cross the field.” (Ray Stedman) It is hard, being packed down by the many feet that have crossed it.
Matthew 13:19, explains this first soil. These are people who hear the message of the Gospel, of the Kingdom, but they are like the hardened paths and they do not let the truth penetrate. The word comes, but they do not understand it, in fact, the real issue is that they do not try to understand it. Stedman says, “This could be called the materialistic heart, one that does not want to be bothered with thinking about anything beyond what you can see, hear, smell, touch, and taste.” This man heard the message, it fell, but something interrupted its flow to the heart and the man did not take the time to think upon it. In reality he does not really want to be bothered with it, so he shrugs it off. (Stedman) The birds come, snatch it away, and the seed that was offered to him is never recovered.
It is interesting to note that the soil represents the different types of people that hear it. It shows that there is not a uniform response of faith, but that it varied depending upon the soil. The NIV translates Luke 8:12, thusly, “Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved.” This ground was hard and there was no way for the seed to get in and take root. It was not prepared and not receptive to the seed (the Word of God). Barclay writes, “People can become so dull and heavy and blunted in mind that when God’s truth comes to them they cannot see it. It is not God’s fault. They have become so mentally lazy, so blinded by prejudice, so unwilling to see anything they do not want to see, that they have become incapable of assimilating God’s truth.” This is the hard mind, the hard heart–a heart that is shut out to the things of God.
The seed was sown, but it never took root because the man did not take the time to let it germinate. He was too hard, too busy, or too disinterested. Then the seed is snatched away. That is a dreadful thought–the seed snatched away never to return. Oh, friend, when the Lord sows His seed be quick to respond. There may be a momentary impression, the conviction of the Holy Spirit is there, but, but…. “It is immediately shrugged off as different, awakening the possibility of a world foreign to him. So he sets it aside, the enemy comes and takes it away, and it is gone.
Listen, for as Paul said, “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” (2 Corinthians 6:2, NKJV) This is a serious, foreboding message from God’s Word. The heart is there, the seed is there, what is lacking is the acceptance. Harbuck writes this of Luke 8:12, “Those [seeds] that fell along the footpath represent those who hear [the Word–Message], but the devil comes and takes away (steals away, snatches away) the Word out of their hearts (minds), so they may not believe and trust Me as their Redeemer and be saved [from their sins].”
It seems that this may not only be true for individuals, but for nations, people as well. When you read the Old Testament it is plainly seen that people, as a whole, fall away, hardened their hearts, and refuse to receive the Word of God. But the Holy Spirit gives warning through the words of Paul in the New Testament as well. “Go to this people and say: ‘Hearing you will hear, and shall not understand; and seeing you will see, and not perceive; for the hearts of the people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they should understand with their hearts and turn so that I should heal them.'” (Acts 28:26-27, NKJV)