The Sower

The Sower
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In a study of the parable of the sower and the seed, the sower ultimately represents Jesus. His work on earth is done through believers. This parable is actually referring to us as the sowers. We are the ones who are physically spreading the seed of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. The main thrust of this parable is evangelism, or how the gospel is spread during the time period in which we live.

Through the parables, Jesus is introducing the kingdom of heaven. This is when Jesus is physically gone from the earth. Because of this basic theme, which runs through the parables, we will be looking at the parable of the sower and the seed in the light of the dispensation of which it speaks.

Jesus told the disciples this parable is the key to all other parables. If we don't understand this parable, we will not understand any other parable. The key to this parable is found in verse nine. Jesus said, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear." When you find this hearing mentioned in the New Testament, especially in the Gospels, it is actually saying , "He that has ears to hear, let him keep hearing." The second "hear" is linear action in the Greek. Linear action is a continuing action.

Furthermore, this scripture refers to more than physically hearing; there is an actual comprehension of what is heard that must occur. In other words, "Let him who has ears understand what he is hearing." Jesus not only talks about ears to hear, He talks about eyes that see. This is the spiritual eye with which we discern. References to the spiritual eyes and ears allude to a spiritual understanding that comes by the continued repeating of God's Word, by keeping it in the midst of your heart until you receive revelation.

This same idea is brought out in Romans 10:17, "Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." You can hear God's Word every day without receiving a revelation of what you are hearing. Then one day, you not only hear it, you also understand it. This is one reason why we should listen to Bible teaching from various teachers. If one teacher doesn't open up the Word to you, someone else can. We need other ministers in the body of Christ to stay balanced. Listen to different approaches on the same subject from people you can trust. Different people can have fresh insights into the Word. There are no new truths, but there are different insights into the truth.

As Jesus was speaking in John 8:30-31, many people, including Jews, suddenly believed on Him.

"As he spake these words, many believed on him. Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed."

It took the Word to get them born again. However, notice Jesus says, "If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." Continuing in the Word is what is important. I have seen many people who treat God and the Word like a genie. They entered into the message of Christ because of a crisis. They were told God could handle their problem, so they began attending church and listening to CDs and MP3s. Nothing kept them from listening to Bible teachings and the studying the Word. Why? Because they had a problem and neeeded a solution. Because they determined to look into the Word, their problem turned around and the answer began to manifest. But once they received an answer, they began to slack off the Word; it became less of a priority. When there was a problem, they turned to the Word. They rubbed the Word like a genie in a bottle and when they got their three wishes, they put it back into the bottle until they needed it again. But, the Word doesn't work that way. Jesus said if you continue in My Word, you will know the truth and the truth shall set you free.

I like to think of it this way: not only does the Word make you free, the Word can keep you free if you will continue in it. God doesn't want to only heal you, He wants you to walk in health. Healing comes through the gifts of the Spirit, but divine health comes from walking in the Word, continuing in the Word. He said He wishes, above all things, not that we would just have our bills paid, but that we would prosper and be in a perpetual state of health as our souls continue to prosper.

Proverbs 4:20-22 tells us these same things:
"My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings. Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart. For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh."

When you "attend" to something, you need to attend to it again and again. If you attend to the dirty dishes, they will not stay clean forever. You will have to attend to them again after the next meal. A lawn once mowed must be attended to again in a few weeks. Personally, I would like to have astro-turf instead of attending to the grass! There is little reward in attending to the dishes or to the grass, but if you attend to the Word, there are tremendous rewards. This is something you can attend to and your rewards are actually greater than the time you spend doing the attending. When you attend to the Word, you plant seeds and the reward exceeds what you put into it. You are always going to reap more than what you sow. So if you sow time into the Word and attend to it, you are going to reap back tremendous benefits.

These verses from Proverbs tell us how to attend to the Word. First, incline your ear. (verse 20) Jesus said those who have ears let him hear. These verses are saying the same thing. If you have an ear, incline it to hear. Next, we are told to incline our ears to God's sayings or His Word, those exceeding great and precious promises. To incline thine ear to His sayings, some effort is involved. It takes effort to fill your ear with the Word of God.

Satan will to your ear with doubt and unbelief. He'll come to your ear with, "Did you hear about sister Rosie? We prayed for her recovery and she died. Did you hear about brother so and so? The whole church has been praying for him and confessing that his business would prosper. He went bankrupt." Satan will keep throwing that stuff in your ear. But what are you to do? Reject it and keep the Word in your ear.

How can you keep the Word in your ear? When you get into your car, plug in a CD. When you get to work and you have a little time, download an MP3 and listen to some good preaching or Christian music. Confess the Word out loud to keep it ever going into your ear. Then when you are told about someone's tragedy you can say, "Father, I don't walk by what happens to them; your Word doesn't rise and fall on sister so-and-so. You said your Word would not return to you void. You are the One who backs your Word. I am putting You to the test. You said You would supply my need according to your riches in glory by Christ Jesus." This is standing on God's Word.

When God gives you a word, don't be swayed by the devil's giving you a second word. The devil will often come to you through well meaning friends and relatives who are concerned about you. They don't want to see you "go overboard." But, if God has given you His Word, go with it and when those well meaning folks come along, pat them on the back and tell them you love them. Then get off by yourself and say, "God, Your Word still says I am healed. Your Word still says You will supply all my need. I'm going to stick with what You are saying."

Another way to attend to God's words is "Let them not depart from thy sight." (verse 21) You may have the Word enter into your ear, but then the devil will put something before your eyes--an unexpected bill or a symptom in your body. You should keep those two gates into your heart open only to the Word. If you are believing God for healing, keep a healing scripture on the mirror. Read it when you brush your teeth, "...Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses." (Matthew 8:17) Keep the Word before your eyes. When you sit down at the breakfast table, don't read the cereal boxes, read the verse! Put a scripture in your car. When you get to a red light, read it. "Jesus went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed by the devil..." (Acts 10:38) Tack up a scripture at work where it will be before your eyes. Always have a way to keep the Word in front of your eyes.

The third thing to do with God's Word is to keep it "in the midst of thy heart." (verse 21) By keeping the Word ever in your ear and ever before your eyes, it goes deeply into your heart. This continuous hearing and seeing is what brings comprehension and revelation. It is like the germination of a seed when the seed breaks forth and blooms to reveal itself. That's when the healing comes. That's when that financial need is met. Then you water it with the Holy Spirit by praying in tongues.

The two-fold purpose of the Word of God is to bring inward light and outward light. Psalm 4 tells us God's words are life to those who find them and health to all their flesh. (verse 22) In other words, the Word of God prospers you inside first, then it manifests outside. This is much like a seed. It goes into the ground and the change in the seed underground is not seen by the natural eye. However, at the right time it springs forth and can be seen. As the Word is planted in your heart, the first thing it begins to produce is life, peace, joy--the fruit of the Spirit. When it has come to maturity it springs forth and becomes health to ALL your flesh. Keeping the Word in your heart will cause even natural things to break forth.

In Matthew 13:13 Jesus explains "Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand." The parables open up to those who are truly seeking.

The religious leaders won't understand the parables because even though they hear with their physical ears, they are not continuing in the Word. This kind of person is spoken of in verse 14, which is a quote from Isaiah 6:9, "And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive."

The people in Matthew 13:15 are the opposite of those in Proverbs 4:20: "For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them."

"Waxed" is an Old English word meaning "turned" or "became." Jesus is saying if they would just open up their ears and eyes, it would be life (conversion) to those who find them and health to all their flesh (divine healing). Because they close their eyes and close their ears, their hearts have waxed cold. He's saying they will not be converted nor will He heal them. However, "them " does not refer to believers.

Believers are spoken of in verse sixteen. "But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear." What happens to the eyes that see and the ears that hear? They become blessed. Life and health come to them--to all their flesh.

Let's look at the interpretation of this parable. This begins in verse 18 with the word Jesus has been repeating, "hear."

Matthew 13:18:

"Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower."

When Jesus says "hear," He actually means "understand." The first time they heard it was with their ears. Now, He is going to break down the parable so they can understand it. Remember, faith comes by hearing and understanding the Word.

In this age and dispensation, God has entrusted the believer with sowing seed. The seed we are to sow is God's Word and not our personal testimony. True, the Bible says we overcome by the word of our testimony, but overcoming is by the Word of God in our testimony.

The trouble is, we have people with ninety percent testimony and ten percent Word. Paul often gave his testimony, but it was saturated with the Word. After hearing your testimony, unbelievers should remember Jesus died for their sins, arose from the dead, and conquered Satan. They should know all they need to do is believe on Him and trust in Him.

The bag holding the seed is our heart. The Word we give comes out of our heart because "...out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh." (Matthew 12:34) We spread the seed with our mouth. This is evangelizing.

In Matthew 13:51, Jesus asked the disciples if they understood the seven parables. They answered "Yes" and Jesus responded, "Therefore every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old." (verse 52)

In this passage, Jesus compares a man who understands a portion of the Word to a householder. A householder oversees and is responsible for his house. As you understand the Word, the house for which you become responsible is your inward man. The more Word you put into your heart, the more you are held responsible to watch over, protect, and keep it. Furthermore, when you receive a revelation, watch over it, and thank God for it.

Jesus continues by saying the householder brings forth out of his treasure things new and old. Your heart is the treasure. Once you have understood the Word of God, you are not only accountable to watch over it, you are also accountable to give out of that treasure. In the parable of the sower and the seed, the sower's treasure is so full he is bringing forth out of it both new and old things and spreading them.

Notice Jesus said, "things new and old." Normally we would say, "old and new." The significance of this order is if you first understand the revelation of the New Testament, it will help you understand the Old.

Another thing we learn from this verse is the sower is mature because he is able to bring forth the new and the old. In other words, he understands the revelations of both the new and old covenants and brings them forth at the proper time.

Colossians 4:5 admonishes us to "Walk in wisdom toward them that are without..." "Them that are without" refers to sinners. You don't have to be emotional or enthusiastic when witnessing. You just need to walk in wisdom. What is wisdom? A treasure filled with old and new, new and old. You can pull wisdom out of that treasure. Wisdom is the correct application of knowledge, therefore, you can't walk in wisdom if you don't have knowledge. You can't pull something out of the treasure unless you have put something into it. Furthermore, this putting in takes time.

This next statement is rather profound, but I think you will grasp it - babies don't produce babies! When a baby comes into this world, it's not capable of producing another baby. All it's capable of doing is opening its mouth to be fed by an adult. We keep feeding it milk until it's old enough to handle meat. As this baby matures into adulthood, he leaves home, gets married, and produces babies. Likewise, when a person is born again, we shouldn't immediately send him out witnessing. The "baby" Christian needs to learn the Word of God until he is mature in the things of the Lord. Then as a mature Christian, he becomes part of the thirty, sixty, and hundred-fold good ground able to produce its own fruit. Finally, from the fruit produced they can sow into others. He's not the hard ground or stony ground or rocky ground. He's the one who continued in the Word, and continued until eventually he could produce fruit of his own.

Did you ever notice a tree that doesn't produce fruit cannot produce other trees? This is because the seed is in the fruit. When you become mature enough to start producing fruit in your life, it is because the Word has grown in your heart. Then from the fruit comes the seed that you then go out and start spreading. This is when you will see other people born again and begin to mature.

In Colossians 4:6 we learn how to witness with speech. "Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man."

This is how you scatter the seed with your mouth. Paul says, "let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt..." Salt is the Word. You have to know the Word to salt your words. The rest of the verse tells us the reason we should season our words: so that we may know how to answer every man. As you study the Word and pray in the Spirit, when someone asks you an off-the-wall question, the Holy Spirit will bring a verse to your remembrance. You will find yourself walking in wisdom towards "them that are without."

This relates to the parable of the sower and the seed because the sower knows how to scatter seed on every type of ground. Why? Because he is walking in wisdom. He's full of the Word.

Jus as the bag is the heart of the sower, the ground is the heart of the hearer. This means you sow from your heart into their hearts. The Word enters through their ear-gate and their eye-gate, but it is heart to heart; it is spirit man to spirit man.

"For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them." (Matthew 13:17)

This verse describes the hard ground. This person heard with his physical ears, but he didn't comprehend and because he didn't understand, Satan was able to steal what he had heard.

Verse 20 tells us of the stony ground. "But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it." Although he immediately received it with joy, something happened. Verse 21 continues, "Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended."

Here's what happened. He got into the Word for awhile, but then he quit. This fellow is much different from the first one. The first one is an unbeliever who didn't want it. He may have come to church or let someone witness to him, but he wouldn't allow the Word entering his physical ear to enter into his heart, so Satan came and stole the Word from him.

However, in this next case, the individual received the Word and continued awhile, but slacked off before he was rooted. You see, a plant is watered two ways. First, it's watered by rainfall. If there is no rain, a plant must run its roots deep into the ground to pull water up from under the soil. This second man, like a plant in stony soil, did spring up. However, despite his tremendous experience, when tribulation and persecutions arose, he was offended. Tribulations and persecutions are analogous to the sun, which arose daily to scorch the plant. (Matthew 13:6) This plant withered because it had no root and couldn't get water. Likewise, this believer withered because he didn't become rooted in the Word, and couldn't endure the tribulations and persecutions. As surely as the sun comes up, Satan is going to oppose your standing on the Word.

Trials and tribulations will come your way, but you are to be rooted and grounded in the Word of God so when trials and tests come along, you will endure. If you are grounded in the Word, Satan will not outlast you. You will outlast him.

The next type of ground is the thorny ground. "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." (Matthew 13:22)

This individual stayed with the Word long enough to obtain some riches and bring in a few of God's provisions, but when the provisions came, he took his eyes off the Word and put them onto the blessings themselves. As he began to look at the riches, the cares of this world were able to enter.

Finally, there is the good ground. "But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty." (Matthew 13:23) This man had ears to hear and kept hearing and so he understood. Despite tribulations, he stuck with the Word. Despite persecutions, he stuck with the Word. Despite the circumstances, he stuck with the Word. Despite the problems that came along and doubt and unbelief aimed him, he stuck with the Word. Because he heard and understood the Word, he brought forth fruit, a hundred-fold, some sixty, and some thirty.

I believe God is raising up hundred-fold believers. He is preparing the Church for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ and for worldwide revival Jesus is sending. You may not be a hundred-fold believer in all aspects of your life, but you can be! Stay with the Word and you will move from being a thirty to a sixty and finally to an hundred-fold believer.

Bob Yandian

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