The Kingdom of God was the main emphasis of Jesus' ministry and this is
accepted by most. But defining precisely what the Kingdom was is a bit more
difficult. Indeed, even Jesus himself was often illusive about it. He did
not speak in absolutes; rather, he spoke in parables. Such is our scripture
text for this morning. Jesus compared the Kingdom to a sower going out and
spreading seed. Some of it falls upon hard ground and is unable to take
root. Some of it falls on shallow ground, and although it initially sprouts,
it later withers away. But some seed falls upon good earth and comes to
fruition and produces a harvest.
We are to understand, of course, that the sower is God, the seed is the
Kingdom, and the various types of soil represent us--you and me. On the
surface of it, of course, it doesn't sound as though God is a very frugal
farmer. After all, most of the seed that is strewn about never takes root.
But this is not really a story about the sower or the seed. It is a story
about different types of soil, or to put it another way, the responses of
different types of people to the Kingdom.
The question is really, what is the state of our hearts when the seeds are
sown with us? With that in mind, let us examine the various conditions of
the heart mentioned in this story.
I. The Hardened Heart
II. The Distracted Heart
III. The Defeated Heart
IV. The Hopeful (and Joyful!) Heart
The
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