It All Starts in the Heart Pt. 2
Blog Post 5 - October 2022
We will be picking up where we left off last week, learning about the importance of the state of our hearts. Remember, we studied Proverbs 4:20-23 NLT “My child, pay attention to what I say. Listen carefully to my words. Don’t lose sight of them. Let them penetrate deep into your heart, for they bring life to those who find them, and healing to their whole body. Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.” We talked about how important it is for each of us to be the guard of our own hearts, to watch what goes in and what goes out. Keep out the trash of this world and the lies of satan and keep in the pure and true Word of God. Let’s go a little farther on this so we can really get this revelation.
Let’s take a look at the Parable of the Sower, starting in Mark 4:3-8 NKJV “Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. And it happened, as he sowed, that some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds of the air came and devoured it. Some fell on stony ground, where it did not have much earth; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of earth. But when the sun was up it was scorched, and because it had no root it withered away. And some seed fell among thorns; and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no crop. But other seed fell on good ground and yielded a crop that sprang up, increased and produced: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.”
This same parable is found in the Gospels of Mark, Luke, and Matthew. Let’s flip over to Matthew 13 to see how Jesus explained this parable. I like the explanation in Matthew a little bit better than the others. Matthew 13:18-23 NKJV “Therefore hear the parable of the sower: When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside. But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles. Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful. But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.”
If the seed was sown all four times and never produced any crop, then we could argue that there could be an issue with the seed. However, as soon as the seed fell on good soil, it produced the crop. Therefore, we can conclude that the issue is the soil and not the seed. The Word of God is an incorruptible seed (1 Peter 1:23). The word incorruptible means not subject to death or decay; everlasting. It says in Hebrews 4:12 AMPC “For the Word that God speaks is alive and full of power [making it active, operative, energizing, and effective]; it is sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating to the dividing line of the breath of life (soul) and [the immortal] spirit, and of joints and marrow [of the deepest parts of our nature], exposing and sifting and analyzing and judging the very thoughts and purposes of the heart.” From these passages, we can be very sure of the purity, the power, the sharp truth, and the complete effectiveness of the Word of God. The Word works and it never misses. The seed is never going to be the issue when it comes to producing fruit in our lives. The issue will always lie in the state of the soil. So then it must be our greatest priority to do whatever we can to develop and maintain good heart soil so that the Word has a place where it’s able to produce the promises of God.
How do we evaluate the soil of our own heart right now? Let’s examine each type of ground listed in the parable of the sower.
The first type listed is “wayside” ground. This refers to what would’ve been roadways, or their thoroughfares in Jesus’ lifetime. So they were hard, packed, and nothing could sink in. It said that these were those that heard the Word, but did not understand the word or we could say they didn’t recognize the value of it. The Word was unable to sink into their hearts so the devil was able to come and snatch away the seed. This is possibly where many people of the world are. They hear the Word, but they give no value to it. So they do not protect it. And what happens to something that is valuable that you don’t protect? It gets stolen.
The next type of ground was stony ground. This ground is similar to shallow earth with rocks beneath it. These are those that heard the Word and responded with joy, but it had no roots so when the pressure and the persecution came the seed or the Word was scorched by the heat. These are people that receive the word and believe it to be valuable, but they’re also quick to quit when difficulty arises.
The third type of ground is the thorny ground. Thorns choke, drown, and suffocate. These are the people that heard the Word and they valued it but they allowed something else to get into the soil of their heart as well. They allowed the thorns in. Like the verse tells us, the thorns represent the cares of this world. The cares of this world can be worry and fear that creeps in about whatever it is we are facing. These people let the worries and fears in place and allowed them to grow and did not pluck them out. Allowing the thorns to choke out the seed of the word, rendering it useless.
The last type of ground was good ground. This is where we all should desire to be. These are the people that heard the word, valued it, and protected it. These people plucked out any care that tried to creep in. They also took the time to fertilize their soil with life-giving nutrients. These are people that guard their hearts.
In the Gospel of Mark, when the disciples asked Jesus about the interpretation of this parable His response in Mark 4:13 NKJV says “And He said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables?” I find it very interesting that just as the father in Proverbs warned, guarding the state of your heart is the most important thing, Jesus also makes a point to say that this parable regarding the state of your heart is the key to understanding all the other parables.
I can speak from my own experience on this. I have gone through seasons in my life where I did not take guarding my heart seriously. I was not diligent at all about what went in my heart or what flowed out. Now however, I have now been guarding my heart very closely. As I compare the two seasons in my life, one guarding my heart and one not so much, I can tell you there is a significant difference. In one while I was not being watchful over what I consumed through my eyes and ears it was very hit and miss when it came to seeing the Word actually produce tangible fruit in my life. Now that I have been in a season for some time now, of placing a vigilant guard over what I consume through my eyes and ears, I have seen the Word produce its intended fruit time and time again. When I guard my heart with all diligence and I keep a constant flow of the Word going in through my eyes and ears, the seed of the Word of God produces healing, freedom, solutions, financial breakthroughs, peace and joy and I could go on and on about all the fruit. When I do not guard my heart and keep my soil clutter free, sometimes the word produces in my life and sometimes it doesn’t. So if you’re at that place and you’re wondering why the promises come to pass sometimes and other times they don’t. Check your heart soil. Examine what you're letting in. And ask how did it get there?
To close this week out, let’s take a moment and look inward. What is in your heart? Is there fear? Is there bitterness? Is there unforgiveness? Is there shame? Is there anxiety? Is there worry? Is there any thorn that needs to be plucked out? Ask God to show you if there’s something in your heart that you need to get rid of. Once you recognize that thing or those couple things, pluck it out. Jesus is the healer. He wants you to live healed and free, especially in your heart. So He is ready to pluck and heal and get your heart soil “producing” ready. Take your hand and act like you’re pulling out a root out of your heart and say this: “I pull out ______ from my heart in Jesus’ Name. And I ask You Jesus to heal me where my heart has produced thorns. I give you access to my heart now to do the work of cleaning out!” Insert whatever is in your heart that needs pulled out in that blank space. And start taking action to above all else guard your heart.
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