Matthew 13:1-8 (NLT) Later that same day Jesus left the house and sat beside the lake. 2 A large crowd soon gathered around him, so he got into a boat. Then he sat there and taught as the people stood on the shore. 3 He told many stories in the form of parables, such as this one: “Listen! A farmer went out to plant some seeds. 4 As he scattered them across his field, some seeds fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate them. 5 Other seeds fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The seeds sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow. 6 But the plants soon wilted under the hot sun, and since they didn’t have deep roots, they died. 7 Other seeds fell among thorns that grew up and choked out the tender plants. 8 Still other seeds fell on fertile soil, and they produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted!
WHAT KIND OF LISTENER ARE YOU?
1. Path Listeners
2. Rocky Listeners
3. Thorny Listeners
You will miss out on the miracles of Jesus if you fail to listen to Him.
Matthew 13:23 (NLT) The seed that fell on good soil represents those who truly hear and understand God’s word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted!”
4. Good Soil Listeners
What makes good soil?
FOUR WAYS TO MAKE GOOD SOIL
1. Work makes good soil.
Philippians 2:12 (NLT) Dear friends, you always followed my instructions when I was with you. And now that I am away, it is even more important. Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear.
Work Intentionally
Work Together
Hebrews 10:23-25 (NLT) Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. 24 Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. 25 And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.
Hebrews 10:25 (NIV) not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
Work To Serve
1 Peter 4:10 (NIV) Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.
Work To Obey
2. Fertilizer makes good soil.
Psalms 1:1-3 (NLT)
1 Oh, the joys of those who do not
follow the advice of the wicked,
or stand around with sinners,
or join in with mockers.
2 But they delight in the law of the LORD,
meditating on it day and night.
3 They are like trees planted along the riverbank,
bearing fruit each season.
Their leaves never wither,
and they prosper in all they do.
Put God’s Word in your eyes.
Psalms 119:18 (NIV)
18 Open my eyes that I may see
wonderful things in your law.
Psalms 119:105 (NIV)
Your word is a lamp for my feet,
a light on my path.
Put God’s Word in your ears.
Romans 10:17 (NLT) So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ.
Put God’s Word in your mind.
Deuteronomy 6:4-6 (NIV) Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. 5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts.
Deuteronomy 6:6-9 (NIV) These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.
3. Water makes good soil.
Jeremiah 17:7-8 (NLT)
7 “But blessed are those who trust in the LORD
and have made the LORD their hope and confidence.
8 They are like trees planted along a riverbank,
with roots that reach deep into the water.
Such trees are not bothered by the heat
or worried by long months of drought.
Their leaves stay green,
and they never stop producing fruit.
Jeremiah 17:7 (AMP) “Blessed [with spiritual security] is the man who believes and trusts in and relies on the LORD
And whose hope and confident expectation is the LORD.
Trust in the Lord
Hope in the Lord
John 7:37-39 (NIV) On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” 39 By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.
Matthew 13:23 (NLT) The seed that fell on good soil represents those who truly hear and understand God’s word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted!”
4. Storms make good soil.
Storms reveal.
Matthew 7:26-27 (NLT) But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. 27 When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.”
Storms produce.
Romans 5:3-5 (NLT) We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. 4 And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. 5 And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.
Matthew 13:23 (NLT) The seed that fell on good soil represents those who truly hear and understand God’s word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted!”
What kind of listener are you?
What kind of listener will you be?
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