Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23

Matthew 13:1-9 and 18-23 ESV That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. And great crowds gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach. And he told them many things in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears, let him hear.”

Hear then the parable of the sower: When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path. As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away. As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.

There are four ways our hearts respond to the gospel. As Jesus explains in this parable, a heart is either too hard, too shallow, too crowded, or ready. When a heart is ready, God can do incredible things in and through that person.

I’m so grateful that God, in His mercy scattered seed in my life until my heart was in the right place. At different times through the process my heart was in each of the four condition mentioned above. For the first nineteen years of my life, my heart was hard. I was part of a church-going family and I heard about God regularly. I knew all the stories and I even believed those stories were true. I was just too rebellious to let the gospel into my heart so the devil regularly stole it away.

When I was nineteen, God finally touched my heart, and I repented of my rebellion. Sadly, my heart was shallow and the ridicule of my friends, and a love of marijuana, caused me to quickly back away from the commitment to the Lord.

A couple of years later, the Holy Spirit again broke though my heart’s hardness and I again repented and turned to God. The fire burned brightly for a while but slowly began to die down as I got busy making ends meet and trying to find love before it was ready to be found. I didn’t walk away from God but I lived a powerless life.

Finally, in 1992, God mercifully tried again and this time my heart was ready. I responded to His call and have followed Him ever since. Not perfectly of course, but God has graciously allowed me to be a part of some incredible ministries despite my weaknesses and failures.

God has shown me amazing patience and I am very thankful that He is the God of 2^nd, 3^rd, and 10^th chances. However, I encourage everyone not to test God’s patience. One never knows when the next time God calls will be the last.

Lord, You are the awesome, almighty, merciful God. Thank You for forgiveness and grace, without which I would have no hope. As the days grow darker, please reveal Yourself to Your people. Prepare their hearts to shine brightly for You!