This morning, we start a new series. We just spent five months on “The Miracles of Jesus.” Today we embark on a new journey where we will study “The Parables of Jesus.”
Before we get into the new series, let’s take a look at this scripture.
(Psalm 126:4 TPT)
Now, Lord, do it again! Restore us to our former glory! May streams of your refreshing flow over us until our dry hearts are drenched again.
I believe this is a season of refreshing and restoring for us. By studying the miracles of Jesus and now the parables, I believe the Lord is taking us back to the basics to be refreshed and restored by the life of Jesus. I am thankful for the last series and excited about this one. I pray you feel the same way.
Parables are more than just simple stories. They are a unique way in which Jesus imparted heavenly truths. Parables are natural stories with supernatural meanings. Therefore, divine mysteries, spiritual insights, and life-changing wisdom are locked up within each parable. Over the next few months, we will unpack, unfold, and unravel these mysteries and apply the life lessons they hold for us today.
A question I sometimes get when I bring up the parables of Jesus is: Why did Jesus teach in parables? Here are a few reasons:
1. Parables are relatable. They are drawn from everyday life, depicting scenarios that were familiar to the people of that time, like farming, baking bread, throwing a party, or fishing. Jesus wasn’t delivering complex theological lectures. Instead, He told stories about ordinary people doing ordinary things, and in doing so, He communicated supernatural truths.
2. Parables are memorable. I am a storyteller. I love telling stories, and thankfully, many people enjoy hearing them. Stories have a way of sticking in our minds, far better than facts or figures. By embedding His teachings in stories, Jesus ensured that His lessons would be remembered, retold, and passed down from generation to generation.
3. Parables cause us to reflect. They are not just one-dimensional stories; they are multi-layered, rich in symbolism, and invite us to delve deeper, think, ponder, and reflect. In doing so, they provoke us to engage with the content personally and make it relevant to our lives.
4. Jesus used parables to reveal truths to those who were willing to hear and understand while concealing them from those who were not. This might seem puzzling at first. Why would Jesus want to hide His message? But when asked this question by His disciples, Jesus referenced the prophecy in Isaiah 6:9-10. Jesus’ teaching method fulfilled the prophecy that some people would see without perceiving and hear without understanding. In this way, parables were a form of spiritual discernment, making the truths of the Kingdom of God accessible to those with open hearts while leaving others bewildered.
Jesus’ parables challenge us, comfort us, provoke us, and ultimately bring us closer to understanding the heart of God. As we journey through this new series on the parables, I pray that we have ears to hear, eyes to see, and hearts ready to receive the profound truths that Jesus communicates through these powerful stories.
Buckle up, my friends, as we go on this journey together! Remember, as we explore these parables, let us pray for the Holy Spirit to be our guide, illuminating the divine truths hidden within these timeless narratives.
While I ended the series on the miracles with what I consider to be “The mother of all miracles,” raising Lazarus from the dead, I will begin this series with what I consider “The mother of all parables,” The parable of the sower. This parable is incredibly foundational. It sets the stage for how we receive, understand, and apply all other parables and the Word of God itself. The Parable of the Sower is about us, the soil of our hearts, and how we receive the seed of God’s Word. It teaches us about fruitfulness, receptivity, and the different responses we can have to God’s Word.
In Mark 4, we find Jesus with a crowd, and as was His custom, He taught them. In this case, Jesus taught a parable about a sower who went forth to sow seed. The seed fell on four different types of soil. After completing the story, Jesus said, “Those who have ears to hear, let him hear.” Jesus was saying, “Those who can discern the true meaning of the story, let them hear and apply the teaching.” Jesus expected his listeners to hear with spiritual ears and for them to seek spiritual understanding.
In this case, His own disciples did not understand the story. So after the crowd was gone, the disciples asked Jesus to explain the story to them. Jesus said, “Do you understand this story? If you don’t, how will you understand any story?” Other translations say, “If you don’t understand this parable, how will you understand any parable?” This is why I call this the mother of all parables. There is obviously something important in this parable. Nevertheless, Jesus went on to explain the parable. He said:
(Mark 4:13-20 ERV)
“The farmer is like someone who plants God’s teaching in people. Sometimes the teaching falls on the path. That is like some people who hear the teaching of God. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the teaching that was planted in them.
Other people are like the seed planted on rocky ground. They hear the teaching, and they quickly and gladly accept it. But they don’t allow it to go deep into their lives. They keep it only a short time. As soon as trouble or persecution comes because of the teaching they accepted, they give up.
Others are like the seed planted among the thorny weeds. They hear the teaching, but their lives become full of other things: the worries of this life, the love of money, and everything else they want. This keeps the teaching from growing, and it does not produce a crop in their lives.
And others are like the seed planted on the good ground. They hear the teaching and accept it. Then they grow and produce a good crop—sometimes 30 times more, sometimes 60 times more, and sometimes 100 times more.”
We will take a deep dive into this parable in the days to come. I have already given you a great deal this morning, so I will provide you with a few quick thoughts from this parable.
So what does this mean for you today? A few things.
1. The sower went forth to sow, and he released the same seed on four types of soil. There were four different results. Not because the sower was different. Not because the seed was different. But because the soil was different. Different people receive things differently from God, and they produce based on how they receive them.
2. You must remain focused when God is speaking. If you don’t, you can miss out on what He is saying. That’s why you can be in the same place at the same time as someone else who received a tremendous breakthrough from God through a Word spoken. You were there, but your heart was not in a position to receive. So those around you were blessed, and you missed out altogether. The same seed was released, but it fell amongst different types of soil (meaning the condition of the hearts of those present).
3. God is always speaking, but we are not always listening. If your heart is not open to hearing what God is saying, you will miss out on critical information and revelation. What you missed out on could have been just what you needed to get you out of the situation you are in. God provided it, but you missed it becuase your heart was not open to receive it.
4. When God is speaking through someone, there is a voice behind the voice; there is a Word behind the word. To hear it, you must be focused and prayerful. Said another way, receiving spiritual things requires spiritual discernment.
5. God likens you to the soil in this parable. He sends people your way to sow seed in your heart. The seed is His Word. He expects His Word to produce results in your life. But you will fail to produce results if you don’t properly receive the seed (or the Word) when it comes.
6. You must live your life with discipline and focus in order to consistently hear from God and then make the most of what you hear. Walking with God boils down to receiving from and responding to the Holy Spirit. This is how we live a Spirit-led life. To be clear, you can be Born-Again, love God, attend church regularly, and still ignore the Holy Spirit. You can be filled with God and never listen to His voice. God can be speaking to you all the time, only to have you miss out on what He is saying because your life is “full of others things,” like the love of money, the deceitfulness of riches, and the pursuit of selfish desires. We will learn a great deal from the parable of the sower. Get ready. This is going to be good!
Declaration of Faith:
Father, this is a season of refreshing and restoring for me!
I thank You for having reignited my faith with the series on the miracles of Jesus. My heart is now open to receive what You will teach me from the parables of Jesus.
To maximize my purpose and potential, I must hear from You daily. I declare that I do!
I do not live by bread only. I live by every Word that proceeds from out of Your mouth.
You are speaking, and I am listening. I read what You said, so I can hear what You are saying.
I have ears to hear. I have eyes to see. I have a heart to understand.
I receive insight, wisdom, revelation, and understanding from Your Word and Your Spirit daily. As I do, You provide clarity for my life and living.
I am good ground, and my life produces a harvest on every seed You sow into it. Therefore, I know GREATER IS COMING FOR ME! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
This is Today’s Word. Apply it and prosper!
