The Seed and The Sower
Parables | Week 3
Leanne Benton teaches on The Parable of the Seed and the Sower.
MESSAGE NOTES
The Seed and The Sower
Parables • March 12, 2023
Teacher: Leanne Benton
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Martin Luther
“We need to hear the gospel every day because we forget it everyday."
Mark 4:3-19 NIV
“Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow But when the sun came up, the plants are scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, and some a hundred times.” Then Jesus said, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.” When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables. He told them, “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you.”
Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable? The farmer sows the word. Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desire for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.
Mark 4:18 ESV
“And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desire for other things enter in and choke the word…”
3 Distinct Weeds:
1. The cares of this world
2. The deceitfulness of riches
3. The desire for other things
Cares = Divided Mind
Neither riches nor poverty create heart.
They reveal heart.
Other things = ...and all the rest.
John MacArthur
“Some (want to) alter the seed, or manufacture synthetic seed. They try to update the message, tone down the offense of the cross, leave the hard or unpopular parts out. Many simply replace the gospel with a totally different message…But this parable is not about enhancing the quality of the seed, improving the skill of the sower, or finding a more elegant use for the farm. It’s all about the condition of the soil.”
Good Soil:
Luke 8:15 NIV
“those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience.”
Matthew 13:23 NIV
“who hears the word and understands it."
Mark 4:20 NIV
"hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop - some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown."