Which ground are you?
...Behold, a sower went out to sow. And as he sowed some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them. Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth. But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them. But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop; some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has an hear let him hear!
Luke 8: 11-15
Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away. Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity. But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience.
I've seen this parable many times, and have taught on this matter, but never before have I seen it in this light. I am truly in a place in my life where the living Word is all that I have to keep me moving forward. Brothers and sisters when you have a promise from the Lord, and everything that you're going through speaks the opposite of that promise you have to make a choice to believe God anyhow. In my studying I heard the Lord say, "Which ground are you?"
Jesus went about preaching the gospel of the kingdom of heaven, but He didn't always have a crowd that was receptive to His teachings. Even though there were signs and wonders done among them, some still didn't repent. He even had some who tried to trip Him up, so that they would have a reason to accuse Him. It was for this reason that Jesus spoke to the multitude in parables. Reading this you'll see the seed (Word of God) fell on different types of ground (conditions of the heart). Some by the wayside, some among thorns, some on stony places, and some on good ground. In this post I want to show you by way of life application what it really looks like when we receive the Word on each ground.
Jesus Himself explains the parable, but lets look at how it applies to us...
The first ground (heart)...
Here we see that the first ground is what the bible considers "wayside"...Those that fell by the wayside are the ones who hear and don't understand what they've heard, so the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts lest they should believe and be saved.
Reading this particular scripture helped me to understand why we are rejected by some when we go to share the gospel. In plain English, these are people who hear the word of God without understanding, and still choose to follow their own way. This refers to people who are comfortable in sin, and have been deceived into thinking nothing is wrong. The word of God is preached, yet it falls on deaf ears. The reason this happens is once the Word is spoken and there is no understanding the thief (the enemy) comes and takes the seed. When there is no understanding there is spiritual blindness, and where there is spiritual blindness there is deception. I want to make something very clear: even though the enemy contributes to the blindness, it is only due to the hardness of our hearts. If this is you repent, and give your life fully to the Lord. Make the decision to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior FOR REAL! It will be the best decision you will ever make in your life.
Many people have hardened hearts for various reasons. One of the reasons our hearts or hardened towards God is unbelief. The bible warns us about departing from God through an evil heart of unbelief. This is sin in the eyesight of God. In fact this is the reason an entire generation could not enter into God's rest. Unbelief hardens our heart and causes us to walk in rebellion, and as a result of our actions the enemy is no longer a trespasser, he has legal access to our lives causing us to be blind and deaf to the truth, and as a result of this we are blown away by every form of doctrine that is contrary to the Word of God. This is a very dangerous place to be, and if one would stay in this state hell is the eternal destination.
The second ground (heart)...
Next we have what Jesus calls the stony ground. These are people who hear and immediately receive the word with gladness, but they have no root. They are on fire in the beginning, but they have nothing to sustain them. When persecution, temptation, trial and tribulations come they fall away. This ground (heart) represents those who believe and is eager to obey, but it doesn't last. This ground represents Christians who are ruled more by emotion then the word of God. Their faith has no root, as soon as hard times come they stumble and revert back to what they know, and that's relying on themselves. Which is indeed and wreck waiting to happen. If this is you repent now and rededicate your life to the Lord. Get rooted and grounded in Him and let His word get on the inside of you that you will begin to bear lasting fruit for the Kingdom of God.
The third ground (heart)...
This ground is what I have been guilty of and I believe a lot of us get caught up in this one. The ground is among thorns. The Seed (Word) is dropped, but it's choked out of our hearts because of the CARES OF THE WORLD. Has God told you to do something, yet you're waiting on the "right" time to do it? Has God told you to sow a seed, yet you're thinking about your household lacking? Has God told you to start walking in ministry, yet you have to wait until you're finish doing what you feel you need to do to be established then you can say yes to God. If this is you repent! What you're operating in is the sin of idolatry!
What is an idol? Well, it is the thing, or person loved more than God, wanted more than God, desired more than God, treasured more than God, and enjoyed more than God. ANYTHING THAT WE PUT BEFORE THE LORD IS CONSIDERED AN IDOL, and this includes ourselves. We must be careful because when we put our own needs and desires before what God desires for us this is what we're guilty of. If this is you please repent and make the choice to give up every ground that Jesus is NOT Lord over. Give up your own way for His way. Lay down your will for His will. God is faithful and just like He forgave and restored the children of Israel when they were guilty of this sin, so will He forgive and restore us.
The fourth ground (heart)...
Jesus describes this ground as the heart that hears the Word and understands it, and bears much fruit. In plain terms this is the heart that hears, understand, and obeys. Those whom the seed fell on good ground made the effort to understand the word by studying to show themselves approved, they made the effort to keep the Word in their hearts that they may not sin against the Lord, and because of this the bible says they are able to bear fruit some thirty, some sixty, some hundredfold. If this is you people will see this fruit. It's not something you have to broadcast, for this is something that will be seen by others. If this is you, I encourage you to keep on in the Lord. Know that He has not forgotten your labor of love. Know that there is a reward waiting for you. Stay faithful, keep pressing, keep pushing, and keep yourself open to the voice of the Lord, for God is pleased with you.
In conclusion...
People of God we can't afford to be content with just going to the church building every Sunday, nor can we afford to be content with reading the Word sometimes. We can't be content with just receiving milk when meat is available. It's not enough to just quote scripture, but it's living what we quote that matters. It's not enough to accept Jesus as your Savior without accepting Him as your Lord as well. God does not expect for us to stay babies; He wants us to mature in the things of Him.
I encourage you today to examine yourself. I ask you the same question the Lord asked me, "Which ground are you?"
Are you the wayside?
If you heard the gospel of Christ, but you have not obeyed; I tell you the truth, the longer you wait the harder your heart becomes. Then you are truly a walking target for the wiles of the enemy.
Are you the stony ground?
If you responded to the gospel, but you are not grounded in faith, when persecution or temptation comes you won't last. You will fall away,
Are you the thorny ground?
If you responded to the gospel, but the cares, riches, and the pleasures of this world has caused you to put the things of God on the back burner; You will not bear much fruit. Remember what Jesus said about the branches that don't bear fruit, ("Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away"...(Jn 15:2a)
Are you good ground?
If you responded to the gospel, and you have a good and noble heart, you understand the Word, you are keeping it with patience, and the Word is producing its intended effect IN YOU! YOU ARE GOOD GROUND! You are not only a hearer of the Word, but you are a doer also. I pray that this parable and its explanation by the Lord Jesus Himself has caused you to examine your hearts and live according to the good news of Jesus Christ.
He that has an ear let him hear!
God bless you!
Prophetess Shaquita Jones
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