Jesus taught a parable about the seed and the sower (see Matthew 13:3-8). In summary, a farmer goes about sowing seed. The seeds fall on four kinds of ground. The yield of the seeds is a function of the ground on which they fall. This parable also reveals some priceless truths about the effective ministry of the Word.
The preaching of the gospel should be life-changing. But that kind of preaching does not just happen. Some things must be in place for that to occur. The parable of the seed and the sower underscores three essentials for life-changing preaching.
The first essential component is the minister. He is a person charged with sowing the Word or feeding the flock. Even though I am focusing on life-changing preaching, this post is not limited to preachers and pastors. Sunday school teachers and small study group leaders, for instance, are also ministers who are charged with feeding the flock.
The second essential component is the seed. In the parable, the seed is the Word of God. Life-changing preaching can come about only through faithfully preaching and teaching the Word of God. No other “seed” will do. Only the Word of God can change our mind and our heart so we can become increasingly more like Christ.
The third essential component is the heart of the hearer. In the parable of the seed and the sower, the soil denotes our heart. As the sower went about sowing, the seed fell on four places—by the way side, upon stony places, among the thorns, and on good ground. Only the seed that fell on good ground “brought forth fruit, some a hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold” (verse 8).
The “Soil” Makes the Difference
Think about it. When churchgoers assemble at their respective local church, they all hear the same preacher and the same Word. In other words, the sower and the seed are the same for all in attendance at that location. What differs throughout the congregation is the condition of the hearts of the individual hearers. A person’s heart is what determines how fruitful the Word will be in the life of each person listening.
No matter how skilled the preacher is or how biblically sound the preaching is, if the listener’s heart is not good ground for the Word of God, the Word will have little impact. Even when Jesus was the Sower upon earth, the Word He preached fell on deaf ears when the Sadducees and Pharisees heard Him. This is true about any kind of seed. That is, it can produce only if it is planted in good.
But the truth is that only God can change one’s heart and make it good ground for His Word. During the Old Testament, God promised a New Covenant in which He would change the heart of His people to obey Him:
A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you: and cause you to walk in my statues, and ye shall keep my judgments and do them.
–Ezekiel 36:26-27, KJV
Absolutely nothing can be more life-changing than the Word of God being faithfully sown into the hearts of those whose hearts have been changed by God.
Copyright © 2023 by Frank King. All rights reserved.