I dealt with the first two soils in my previous blog where Jesus taught on the parable of the sower in Luke chapter 8. I explained that the soils represents the disposition and the motives of the heart hearing the word of God. Below I would like to deal with the two final soils. The seeds which fell upon a rock and seeds that fell on good ground.
- The Rock
The third soil dealt with in Luke chapter 8 is the rocky ground is not earth full of stones, as people sometimes suppose. Stones can be removed but what Jesus was describing here is earth that is shallow. This rocky ground has rock close to the surface, so there is no depth to it. In this kind of soil, you can plant, water and fertilize all you want but the roots will always be stunted. This kind of soil is common in the hill country of Judea. The seed wants to grow but cannot survive with shallow roots. What is the state of your roots, are they shallow or are they deeply rooted in God?
The rock also represents the heart of those who received the word with joy but there is no root or foundation so once they hear the word, they believe it but when temptation comes, these hearers fall. Every difficult situation that presents itself, this category of hearer gives up when the going gets tough. They are enthusiastic in their belief but when the storms of life appear, they cannot persist, they are not determined. This verse also connotes to the idea of a rock with a superficial covering of the earth which is just enough to fructify the seed and give it a temporary germination, not enough to allow it deepness of root and consequent permanence of fruit.
To relate this to the rocky hearer, they have a hard and callous heart but are still coated with a thin layer of sensibilities and emotions, just enough of soul to start the seed of the word into vegetation. But it is not enough to give it depth or perfectness of growth.
In His study on this parable, William Bacon Stevens, 1857, writes “In the time of testing, they fall away. Being soon offended at a religion which exposes them to such trials; Rather than bear the taunts of men- they dare the frowns of God, and so return to the world which they once promised to renounce”.
- Good Ground
The final soil is that of the seeds which were planted on ground (Luke 8vs 15). This verse represents those who hear the word and understand it. They produce crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. They have an honest and good heart. They receive the truth without questionings and disputing. They do not twist and cavil at the word; they treat the word that they have heard and received honestly, and act upon it with simple minded sincerity and a desire to profit (to bring a return on God’s investment). Whenever God invests in a thing, He expects a return.
When the good ground hearer hears the word, they give the word their attention and they apply their hearts to wisdom in activating the word of God over their lives. Jodi Hooper puts it this way that “Our Christian character does not depend so much on our hearing the word as it is on keeping the word”. The word does benefit you just hearing it Sunday to Sunday. The Word must stay in the mind in order to yield results in your life. As a man thinks so is He. If you are constantly thinking on the word and on God’s promises, guess what will happen, it will translate into your daily actions. You will begin to think, walk and live the word, and that is powerful. In regards to keeping the word in your mind, it is easier said than done. This requires a daily discipline, it is a choice that you have to make to allow the word to resonate in your spirit and apply it. When the enemy sees this He will try to distract you as I mentioned in the previous blog.
Your mind is where the greatest warfare takes place in the mind. You hear the word on Sunday and by Monday morning, you are in a war of negativity in your mind; here comes doubt stating the reality of your situation but you have to fight back using faith and respond with the word of God and create an atmosphere of worship.
Upon research, I wanted to learn about the precautions taken before a seed is sown. And first and foremost, before a seed is sown, the temperature, moisture, air and light conditions must be correct for seeds to germinate.
So how do I create a good soil (heart) for the seed (prophetic word)
You nurture your seed by;
- Consistently repeating the word of God – this is also known as meditation, meditate means to mutter to oneself repetitively (Joshua 1:8)
- Activate the word with faith. Your faith in the word is manifested through your actions which should be directly correlated with the prophetic word.
- Water your word with worship, when the enemy brings negativity and doubt, begin to worship, play some songs. I experienced this today, and I just turned my music on and I began to sing, within hours the atmosphere shifted because I received a prophetic word which challenged me and delivered me and by Monday morning the enemy started trying to sow seeds of doubt but I said no and I began to worship.
- Prayer- battles are won when you get on your knees. Prayer is communication with God. Prayer allows you to remind God of His promises (not like He forgets) and it also reminds You that He is not a God that He will lie(Numbers 23v19) and His words will not return to Him void (Isaiah 55v11). Prayer also realigns you with God’s original plan. Prayer is a two way conversation, so when you speak allow Him to talk back to you, position yourself to listen and receive from Him.
- Invest in and listen to good sound teaching. Don’t just allow yourself to be fed on a Sunday. Surround yourself with the word daily whether through messages (CD’S, Podcasts, Audio-bibles etc). Psychologists have found that the brain can only take 20 minutes of information, after that the brain shuts down, so that hourly message, you may have missed something that you will need in the future.
- Make good notes whilst hearing the word so that you can revisit and remind yourself of the word.
- Apply the Word- Act on what you have heard. God has promised you some things the only way you can apply this word, is to step out by faith. If you have heard the word, that God has promised you for example a job, it will not manifest unless you start applying for jobs. Do your part and God will do His. This is where the power is application. What separates a good ground hearer and the other soils? The good ground hearer applies the word.
But please note, that you are not responsible to make the fruit. I can hear you saying, Dahna you have gone back on yourself. The whole point of these articles is to teach you how to maintain the disposition of your heart when receiving the word but the fruit come in God’s timing. Your responsibility is to fertilize the soil of your heart, feed it by moving in faith and obedience and allow God to produce on your behalf. Paul got this revelation in 1Corinthians 3v6-7, he recognised that he does his part by planting and Apollos watering but He recognised that God gives the increase. Growth takes time, so if you are already doing this, then rejoice because your harvest is here; allow God’s timing to bring forth your fruit. Glory to God I just felt this as I wrote this.
I said in my previous blog (Your Seed Is about to Bring Forth) that your seeds are your words. In this new season, it is important that we speak the word of God (which are seeds) into the atmosphere, Your soil is your heart, this is where you hold onto the words of the Lord and His promises. Without going too deep, God formed you from the soil of the ground which means you are a walking soil. Your heart is a ground for sowing. I experienced this a few times where I was saying positive things but deep inside I did not feel good about myself, I was in turmoil, I felt like if I spoke positively it would change everything but I grew to understand that that is not the case. If your heart is negative then you will reap negativity; if your heart is positive then you will reap great things.
So after this study which has challenged me and corrected me; it has also equipped and built me up for greater; I want to challenge you with this article like it has me. Next time when you enter an environment to receive the word of God,
- Check your motive
- What is the state of your heart?
- When you hear the word, which of these categories do you fall into?
Let your prayer be after reading these articles that the Lord will give you a new heart. God promised Israel this in the book of Ezekiel chapter 36v26-27. And this promise is open to you too. This is my honest prayer that God will give you and me a new heart, and that He will give me a new spirit and that He will take away the stony heart out of my flesh and give me a heart of flesh. Please feel free to model this prayer to your own needs. I pray that these articles will bless you and that it will take you to a higher level in understanding God’s will for your life. Do not rush the process, readjust and reposition yourself to receive God’s word and promises in your life and allow God’s timing to produce the fruit in you.
God bless you and thank you for reading
Destiny Moments 