The importance of Hearing the Word

Turn to Matthew 13…

About one-third of Jesus’ teaching was in parables – brief stories from everyday life told by way of analogy to illustrate spiritual truths. Each parable has an underlying spiritual of moral message that is not always apparent immediately. The Parable of the Sower constitutes one of eight major parables concerning the kingdom of God. Its central theme is that the gospel of the kingdom will meet with varying levels of success in the human heart.

Yet, Jesus candidly closed the parable with a cryptic admonition, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” Earnestly warning people as to “how” they hear the word of God. It is no light thing to hear the Word being taught. In your hearing you are made more responsible than you ever were before. If you shrug off the message, or consider obedience an optional matter, you do so to your own loss. But if you hear and obey, you place yourself in a position to receive more revelation and more blessings from God.

Therefore, we all have an essential basic need and that is to remain teachable. A “hearing” heart will gladly receive the seed of truth and become fruitful. Without receiving the word, no truth can be sown, and the “living” word can never mould your life in order to produce Christian character. For this reason, you must remain teachable if your heart is going to represent good soil – yielding noble and honourable fruit to God’s glory.

A well known minister once wrote: “If, on hearing, I possess that which I hear, not merely have joy in receiving it, but possess it as my own. Then it becomes a part of the substance of my soul, and I shall get more; for when the truth has become a substance in my soul, there is a capacity for receiving even more.”

The Parable of the Sower concerns a sower who planted his seed in four different types of soil. As might be expected the results were entirely different in each case, so let us examine this further by considering both accounts – In Matthew 13:1-9 and Luke 8:4-15.

Soil Results

Hard-packed pathway
Trampled by men and the seed or wayside devoured by birds.

Thin layer of soil over a

Seed sprouted quickly, but no hard rock deposit root; scorched by the sun and withered away for lack of moisture.

Ground infested with thorns

The seed sprouted, but growth was impossible. And because of the thorns growth was choked.

Good ground

The seed sprouted, grew, and yielded a crop; some stalks bore one hundred grains for each seed planted, some sixty, and some thirty. But what exactly does all this mean? Having explained why He used parables, Jesus now proceeds to break down the parable of the four soils.

Verse 19: That hard-packed pathway, or “wayside,” speaks of people who refuse to receive the message. They hear the word but do not understand it - not because they can’t but because they won’t! The “seed” does not enter the soil (the heart); therefore, it stays on the surface of their lives where it’s easily snatched away. The “birds of the air” are a picture of the devil and his satanic forces; snatching away any seed remaining on the surface of the heart of anyone choosing not to understand. In fact, he co-operates with them in their selfish, unruly and rebellious ways.

Verse 20: When Jesus spoke of “stony places,” he probably had in mind a thin layer if soil covering a ledge of rock. This represents people who hear the word and respond with joy and gladness, but in fact, they did not allow the word to break them. At first the sower might be elated that his teaching is so successful, but soon he learns it’s often not that good when the message is received with smiles and cheers. For the word to take root, people’s hearts must first be broken, and then penetrated. There must first be deep conviction and genuine repentance. It is far more encouraging to see a sinner weeping his way to the Cross than to see him light-heartedly chewing gum down the aisle.

Notice, the shallow earth reveals two things, (a) what often appears to have life may be superficial as it has no root beneath the surface, and (b) what is planted in shallow soil yields a shallow profession of faith; for there can be no depth or substance to it. And when such a person’s faith is tested by the scorching sun of adversity, he decides it isn’t worth it and abandons the cause of Jesus Christ. Observe, because no encouragement (moisture) was given to the seed, so it withered and died. All seed must be watered for it to survive.

Verse 22: “Among the thorns,” this thorn infested ground represents another class of hearer, those who hear the word and get along nicely for a little while. Such people somehow always fail to stay the full course. They may appear outwardly to be genuine subjects of the kingdom but in time their interest in God is stifled and smothered. Either by the cares of this world, by their carnal delight in riches, or by the pleasures and lusts of life. And there is never any lasting fruit because they are being held captive by these thorns.

Verse 23: The “good ground” represents a true believer - the genuine article. One who’s heart is tender, noble and good. Such a person is receptive to God’s word and fully understands it through obedience to what he hears. However, he did not simply receive the word with gladness, he also allowed it to mould and shape his life. Furthermore, he remained teachable and obedient throughout. Although these believers do not all produce the same amount of fruit, they all show by their fruit that they possess divine life. Fruit is probably the manifestation of true Christian character (which stems from divine substance). Jesus is the vine; we are the branches!

So what was this parable meant to say to you? Obviously it warns you against the peril of hearing without obeying. But it was also calculated to encourage you to receive the word sincerely, and then to prove its authenticity by bringing forth Godly fruit. Therefore, lack of fruit undermines the integrity of God’s word. In addition to this, the Parable of the Sower prepares you for the otherwise discouraging fact that relatively few of those who hear the gospel message are genuinely affected by it. Believers cannot live in the delusion that the entire world will be converted through the spread of the good news.

In this passage, you are also warned of the three great antagonists of the gospel:

The devil - represented by the birds of the air,
The flesh - represented by the scorching sun, and
The world system - represented by the thorns.

Each one of the above affects the word sown in your heart differently. The birds (satanic forces) are around to steal the word if you allow them to. The scorching sun (your flesh / sinful nature) is able to evaporate all the moisture or nourishment contained in the word you have received. And, the thorns (the world system, with its cares and delights) can choke the word and make it become lifeless to you.

Finally, we are given a vision as to the tremendous returns from investing in human character. Thirty fold is 3,000 percent return. Sixty fold is 6,000 percent return. And, one hundred fold is 10,000 percent return on investment. But when it comes to souls, there is no accurate way of measuring results. One single case of genuine conversion could produce a Billy Graham!

To recap here are some important points to remember concerning the Parable of the Sower:

The word is sown in the heart of man, and not in his mind (or intellect). Therefore, it’s the word that’s sown in your heart that has the power to illuminate your mind and mould your life.
The devil has access to steal the word immediately after it’s been sown. Even in church services!
If you do not water the seed that is sown it will wither and die. The Bible talks about the word being water, therefore, you water the seed with the word of God. Word waters word!
The flesh, or carnal nature, has the ability to extract all the moisture (encouragement) from the word you have sown in your heart. This is why you feel like parched land.
By allowing the world system to influence your life, you are handing over control of your life to that system. Hence, your faith is stifled and smothered by circumstances.
The rewards of having a tender and receptive heart are immeasurable. “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.” (Romans 10:17).

Chris Demetriou, 18/08/2011