“He began to teach againby the sea. And such a very large crowd gathered to Him thatHe got into a boat in the sea and sat down; and the whole crowd was by the sea on the land.And He was teaching them many things inparables, and was saying to them in His teaching,“Listento this! Behold, the sower went out to sow;as he was sowing, someseedfell beside the road, and the birds came and ate it up.Otherseedfell on the rockygroundwhere it did not have much soil; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of soil.And after the sun had risen, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away.Otherseedfell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked it, and it yielded no crop.Otherseedsfell into the good soil, and as they grew up and increased, they yielded a crop and produced thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.”And He was saying,“He who has ears to hear,let him hear… And He said to them,“Do you not understand this parable? How will you understand all the parables?The sower sows the word.These are the ones who are beside the road where the word is sown; and when they hear, immediatelySatan comes and takes away the word which has been sown in them.In a similar way these are the ones on whom seed was sown on the rockyplaces, who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy;and they have nofirmroot in themselves, but areonlytemporary; then, when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately theyfall away.And others are the ones on whom seed was sown among the thorns; these are the ones who have heard the word,but the worries oftheworld, and thedeceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.And those are the ones on whom seed was sown on the good soil; and they hear the word and accept it andbear fruit, thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.” Mark 4:1-9, 13-20 NASB 95
Jesus is the sower
His words are the seed
Our hearts are the soil
Soil Preparation
Soil #1 The Path
The Problem: Misplaced purpose
The Solution: Soil preparation
Soil #2 The Rocky Places
The Problem: Misplaced faith
The Solution: Rock removal
Soil #3 The thorny places
The Problem: Misplaced hope
The Solution: Weed pulling
Soil #4
“Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock.” Matthew 7:24 NASB95
Hears the word
Accepts the word
Embraces the word
“I am the true vine, and My Father is thevinedresser.Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and everybranchthat bears fruit, Heprunes it so that it may bear more fruit.You are alreadyclean because of the word which I have spoken to you.Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruitof itself unless it abides in the vine, so neithercanyou unless you abide in Me.” John 15:1-4 NASB 95