A Fruitful Life - Part 2

Why did Jesus teach in parables?  The short answer is because the people did not really want to hear His instruction.  The parable of the sower a message by the Lord was designed to sharpen people who had dull hearts.  Matthew 13:1-23 comprises the whole setting for the "parable of the sower."  Let's break down some of the key verses that set the stage for Jesus teaching.

• V. 1 and 2 - Share with us the setting of this teaching.  A crowd from the surrounding towns gathered to Jesus to hear Him teach.  The crowd was so large that He had to get into a boat and teach the people on the shore.  This was a common practice in that day, the teacher would sit in the boat, and the people would stand on the shore and listen.  

This great crowd of people had come together to hear Jesus teach but in the midst of this Jesus recognized that the majority of the people did not really want to listen so He teaches them in a parable.  So what is a parable?  The word parable means to put something beside something else to make a comparison.  Some have described the parables of Jesus as earthly stories with heavenly meanings.  They take something out of common life and use it to illustrate gospel truth.  So parables are used to sharpen those who really believe, they are teachings that require a person to search out the truth hidden in them.  These truths are not hidden from people but rather they are hidden for people who will apply themselves to understand.  God desires to see a heart that runs hard after Him with single focus.  In verses 11-15 in Matthew 13 we see this verified by Jesus.

• V. 11 - Jesus taught in parables because people can be in the meeting but they are not in the meeting.  The crowd showed up but they were not engaging their eyes, ears, and hearts to the teaching.  If we want to understand and walk in the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven we must be attentive. God gives His revelation to those who will desire and search it out.  

Jesus gives us even more detail in verses 12-15.  

• If we do not continue to pursue and cultivate the truth of the Kingdom of God in our lives it will be taken away from us.  This is not God removing it, but rather the enemy being able to steal the Word or choke it out. 
• So, don't just possess the power to see, use this gift of seeing from God to look and perceive what He is saying. 
• Don't just have the power of hearing, use this gift of hearing from God to listen and understand what He is saying. 
• Use the power of seeing and hearing to grasp and understand.  A person who desires to see and hear will always have help from the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 2:12, 13).  

I will conclude with this.  God is not the one who determines our level of fruitfulness.  God has declared that He desires that we have a 100 fold life.  The condition of the soil of our heart is what is in question not His seed.  A heart that is good soil is one that belongs to a person who purposes to look, listen, and understand the Word of God.  

In Christ, Pastor Sean