Different Grounds by Brother Curtis Hansen

         This morning's scripture is going to come from the book of Matthew. We will be reading from chapter 13 and starting in verse one. Our message is going to look at the parable of the seed and the sower.

        The same day went Jesus out of the house, and sat by the sea side.

        2 And great multitudes were gathered together unto him, so that he went into a ship, and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.

        3 And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a shower went forth to sow;

        4 And when he sowed. some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up:

        5 Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth:

        6 And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.

        7 And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them:

        8 But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.

        9 Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

        10 And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why spikiest thou unto them in parables?

        11 He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.

        Now, we are going to go to the 18th verse.

        18 Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower,

        19 When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understand it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catches away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side.

        20 But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it;

        21 Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, by and by he is offended.

        22 He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.

        23 But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understands it; which also bears fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.

        So, within this parable, Jesus speaks of three different yet negative grounds and one positive. Utilizing this imagery, Jesus is telling the multitude first that the seed represents God's word. The message this morning is going to be a closer look of the different grounds God's word is falling upon. The key takeaway for you this morning is to always vet those you are around with daily and cue in what type of ground they are.

        Let's begin with the seed that falls by the way. The seed falls and bounces off hard ground. People who are set in their ways, not open to processing the meaning of scripture they hear. They have their guard up and very defensive in life. They are wrapped up too much in their own thoughts and often things in the past where they feel their beyond redemption or even fixing. This parable, as a whole, is Jesus separating mankind into different segments. You can connect verse 4 with verse 19.

        The next ground Jesus speaks about is rocky ground. The seed takes to the soil, but the roots reach down only so far. People who are this type of ground are more a surface or shallow type of person. They ascribe to practicing a word of the day or a verse of the day but not read the word of God daily. They anchor their personal faith on generational traditions or beliefs in their family. If you don't build a relationship with God, your faith is vanity. A shallow person is truly seen when a trial or tribulation falls upon them. Trials will come from life more often than the devil. The shallow person will make personal mistakes and blame the devil for it. As soon as persecution comes these people are torn. These people often say, "At one time I tried Jesus and he wasn't for me." You can connect verse 5 with verse 20. 

        How can you dig deeper in your relationship? How can you expand the depth and range of your relationship with God? You can mature in your walk. You can till the spiritual ground and develop a prayer life to develop a depth to your life.

        The next ground Jesus spoke of was the seed which falls among thorns. These people are the one who ran to the altar at every altar call. They live zealous for God in the beginning of their walk. In turn, God may move quick in their life. He may bestow blessings upon them as a reward for their strong faith. They may in turn love the blessings more than the blesser. The deceitfulness of riches choke out the word and make that person unfruitful. If Jesus truly blessed you and all your hearts desires fully, where would your fruit be? Sure, you're faithful when you are poor and in need, yet, with a significant monetary increase or a job with more responsibility, you leave and walk away from God. As you grow in your walk. the thorns among you choke out your life. You start missing the community of the church. You begin to slack in reading scripture daily and committed time to prayer. You are no longer a good steward of what God gave you and invest more into your flesh. Your decisions affect your direction and trajectory in life. You can connect verse 7 with verse 22.

        What is fruit? You could say fruit is evident when your children are upright and fine as adults. Fruit is what the Lord provides and what you grow from the seed he gives you. Some people may have an increase of a hundredfold. Good soil the seed is sown into is in the heart and not intellect.

        There are many churches out there today who are more about behavior modification than teaching core lessons and processes from the Bible. They think if you can overcome and the work you put in correcting your sinful nature is what leads to salvation. This is not true salvation. anyone can correct their behavior for public scrutiny. True salvation is believing in go and sin no more.

       As we close this message, I want to relay to you what I consider the pillars of biblical worldview. 1) Creation 2) The Fall- this would be first of the angels from heaven before man and the sin which is linked to it since 3) Redemption- This fulfills a purpose every person is seeking an answer to in life. It is the time of grace which man's flesh quickly abuses and misunderstands. 4) Consummation- This is the end of times. The return of the almighty. Finally, there's 5) A new creation.