Mark 4:13-14, 20 (NKJV)And He said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? The sower sows the word. …But these are the ones sown on good ground, those who hear the word, accept it, and bear fruit: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.”
In the above passage, Jesus was explaining the ‘Parable of the Sower’ to the disciples because if they understood it, they would also comprehend the rest of the parables. Similarly, grasping the fundamental truth of this parable will help us to be fruitful in our Christian lives.
The seed refers to the Word of God and the soil refers to our hearts. The highlight of the parable is on the last soil where the seed of the Word of God was well received and accepted, and it brought forth a harvest. What Jesus is helping all of us to understand is that we determine how much the Word of God influences our lives, because we have been given the freedom to choose. Therefore, we need to decide in our hearts to listen to the Word intently, accept it and act it out diligently because nobody else can do it for us or force us into it.
It is easy to steal the seed when it is lying on hardened ground, stony ground and amongst thorns because it is above the surface of the soil. Likewise, we can be listening to the preaching, teaching, and sharing of the Word but are uninterested or sceptical about it. Also, because we are so used to “seeing is believing” and accustomed to being affected by our senses, we may struggle to believe by faith and may give up easily rather to put up a fight between what we are experiencing and believing by faith.
However, there is tremendous power in the seed, and if the soil is fertile, which means the heart is willing to receive the Word, there will be a multiplication effect of up to a hundredfold. The seed will begin to germinate and take root even though we can’t see its growth with our natural eye. We will need to water the seed by meditating on the Word or reviewing the preaching or teaching of the Word to help it to grow and allow it to take root in our hearts. The harvest of fruit in our lives will also affect the lives of the people around us because a multiplication effect takes place as we live out the truth or share the conviction of the Word with the people around us.
In Matthew 13:31-32, Jesus also taught us how the mustard seed can grow into a strong tree despite the size of the seed planted. Therefore, we must not underestimate the power of God’s Word in our lives. A tremendous amount of faith is developed when we listen to the unadulterated Word of God, accept it, and allow it to bear fruit and multiply.
Sermon Series: Don’t Let it Be Stolen (Part 1)
种子里面有能力
马可福音4:13-14, 20 耶稣对他们说：“你们不明白这比喻吗？那你们怎能明白其它的比喻呢？撒种之人所撒的就是神的话语。那撒在好地上的，就是人听见了话语，又乐意接受，并结出果实，有三十倍的，有六十倍的，有一百倍的。”
在以上的经文里,耶稣同向随者们解释了撒种之人的比喻，因为只有当他们理解了这个比喻他们才会理解其它的比喻。同样的道理，当理解了这个比喻的真谛将会帮助我们在基督徒生命里结出硕果。
种子代表神的话语，而土壤代表我们的内心。这个比喻的重点，在那块土地上，神的道被全然领受和接受，从而带来了丰收。耶稣要帮助我们所有人明白的是，神的话语对我们的生命起到多大的影响，这是由“我们自己”决定的，因为我们被赋予了选择的自由，因此我们要在心里决定专心听道，领受并且勤勉地行道，因为无人可以为我们这么做，或是逼迫我们去这么做。
当种子播撒在干硬的土地上，碎石的土地上或是长满荆棘的土地上时，种子是很容易被偷走的，那是因为种子是撒在土壤的表面上。同理我们可能去听布道，教导和分享神的话语但并不是真的感兴趣或是也不觉得神的话语有什么特殊之处。而且因为我们习惯了“眼见为实”又向来容易受我们五感的影响，我们或许很难凭信心相信，或许轻易就放弃了，而不是在我们正在经历的事情与凭信心相信之间展开一场争战。
但是种子里蕴藏着巨大的能力，如果土壤肥沃，这意味着心愿意接受道，那么这个能量便会增倍，种子将会在泥土里生根发芽即使我们肉眼看不到。我们要通过默想神的话语，复习布道的内容，或是教导神的话语来浇灌我们内心的种子，并让它生根发芽。而我们生命中收获的果实也将会影响到我们周遭人的生命因为当我们开始行出这真理，或与周遭的人分享这个信心时，倍增就发生了。
耶稣在马太福音13:31-32 里还教导我们即使小小一颗芥菜子经过浇灌也会长成一棵大树。因此，我们万万不可低估神的话语在我们生命里的力量。当我们聆听上帝纯净的话语，接受它，并让它结出果实并且倍增时，就会产生巨大的信心。
讲章系列：别让种子被偷走！（第一部分）
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