CHECK THE GROUND
BIBLE PASSAGE: LUKE 8: 5-15, 18; MATTHEW 13: 1-23
Picture taken from Google
Lesson Prepared by: Krisha of
Solomon’s Wisdom FB page
Lesson
ideas taken from: ptr tonyEvans –the secret of the seed
OCTOBER 03, 2021
MEMORY VERSE
But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your
ears, for they hear.
MATTHEW 13:16
INTRODUCTION:
Having
here in CBT for so long, it’s normal to see people who have come and go. There
are only few members left in the year 80’s. If I’m not mistaken, Pastor Elmer,
sis. Maria Tampos, Nay Legaspi and no more. During my batch, 1990’s, I’m the
only one left. They are no longer here. I try to recall the name of the member
who was baptized with me. He was faithful and his personality was refined. His
surname is “MAPA”, and I can longer recall his first name. Because we can see
lots of people who come and go, there are times we ask, why the Word of God
doesn’t penetrate in their lives. If you still remember what I mentioned before
about a person who kept telling me about negative things and the last thing, I
told this person was a verse in the Bible, 1 Peter 5:7, “Casting
all your care upon him; for he careth for you.” After telling
some verses and the last verse, this person didn’t mind the verses I sent, she
just kept telling me her side and they are all negative. After so many attempts
of encouraging their person, I stopped and wonder, “Why this person can’t use
God’s Word to encourage herself?” I’ll leave this question for a while and let our
lesson for today will answer why this is happening to a Christian.
The story in our lesson
is familiar to every one of us. It’s a parable – the Parable of the Sower.
The Parable of the Sower
was told to the crowd that had gathered around Jesus. Jesus tells the story of
a sower who scattered seeds on four different types of soil. The first type of
ground was hard, and the seed could not sprout or grow at all and became snatched
up instantly. The second type of ground was stony. The seed was able to plant
and begin to grow, however, it could not grow deep roots and withered in the
sun. The third type of ground was thorny and although the seed could plant and
grow, it could not compete with the number of thorns that overtook it. The
fourth ground was good soil that allowed the seed to plant deep, grow strong,
and produce fruit.
We can see that the
seeds have been planted to different kinds of soil. Therefore, we can say that
if there’s a problem of the planting, we need to CHECK THE GROUND! Our lesson for today is titled CHECK THE GROUND!
LESSON OUTLINE:
1. THE SUCCESS OF THE SEED HAS NOTHING
TO DO WITH THE SEED; IT IS WHERE IT LANDS.
Like
what I’ve said, sometimes we think GOD’S WORD DOESN’T WORK FOR OTHER PEOPLE.
They go to church, hear the word of the Lord preached and taught and nothing
different. If nothing is different, it’s
not the problem of the seed. Same seeds were sown but the places where it lands
are different. Therefore, CHECK THE GROUND.
In
verse 11 says, “Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of
God.” Let’s say this
together, “THE SEED IS THE WORD OF GOD.”
I remember my mom when trying to plant “snake beans” in America. She got
worried because the seed hasn’t been successfully sprouted. I told her that
there’s a problem why it didn’t turn out well but this year, the seeds have
been growing successfully; they now can eat “inabraw” one of the Ilocano
dishes. I see that the problem is not the seed; it’s the ground or the soil. Therefore,
the WORD of GOD is not the problem’ it’s the soil. It’s the condition of the
heart to those who hear God’s Word. It’s very important to us to make ourselves
ready for the word of God.
2. IT’S POSSIBLE TO HAVE EARS AND NOT
HEAR (MATTHEW 13:9).
Matthew 13:9 says, “Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.” Evidently, it was
possible to have an ear and not hear. Evidently you can
have two ears and not hear. It was possible to be part of the crowd to hear
the story and still not know what’s going on. Let’s contemporized it. It was possible to come to church and hear the
sermon and have heard nothing at all. Have you ever talked to somebody who
could repeat what you just said but you knew they were listening? In verse 10,
the disciples said, “Why
speakest thou unto them in parables?” Jesus answered
in verse 13, “Therefore
speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear
not, neither do they understand.” Let me ask you how many times our pastor and
preachers preach the importance of church in our lives? Many times, right? But
why there are some still don’t go to church? This is the answer – the problem
is not the Word of God; it’s the heart. Also they hear but hear not neither do
they understand.
We usually hear reminders from our pastor that upon hearing
the Word of God, be attentive because you might not hear any word or phrase
that will touch your heart on that moment of hearing God’s Word.
3. HE THAT HEARS WILL GET MORE (MATTHEW
13: 10-12)
In Luke 8:9-10,
9 And his disciples asked him, saying, What might this parable be? 10 And he said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the
kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and
hearing they might not understand.
Itanong ng mga alagad kung ano ang
kahulugan ng talinghagang ito. Sumagot si Jesus, “Sa inyo’y ipinagkaloob na
malaman ang mga lihim tungkol sa paghahari ng Diyos, ngunit sa iba’y sa
pamamagitan ng mga talinghaga upang:
‘Tumingin man sila’y hindi makakita; At making man sila’y di makakaunawa.’
Have you noticed the disciples question, “What
might this parable be”? The disciples were not satisfied hearing the story;
they asked what it meant? In verse 10 Jesus replied, “Unto you is given to know
the mysteries.” We can see in this verse that the disciples were given the
understanding about the mysteries or secret of the kingdom of God. Amen! It’s a
blessing to the disciples. Let’s read the same story in Matthew 13;
10 And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto
them in parables? 11 He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to
know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. 12 For
whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but
whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath. 13 Therefore speak I to
them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not,
neither do they understand. 14 And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By
hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and
shall not perceive: 15 For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of
hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with
their eyes and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart,
and should be converted, and I should heal them.
Tagalog:
Lumapit ang mga alagad at
tinanong si Jesus: “Bakit po ninyo dinadaan sa talinghaga ang inyong
pagsasalita?” Sumagot Siya, “Ipinagkaloob sainyo na malaman ang mga lihim
tungkol sa paghahari ng Diyos, ngunit hindi ito ipinagkaloob sa kanila.
Sapagkat ang mayroon ay bibigyan pa, at mananagana, ngunit ang wala, kahit ang
kakaunting nasa kanya ay kukunin pa. Nagsasalita ako sa kanila sa pamamagitan
ng talinghaga, sapagkat tumitingin sila ngunit hindi makakikita, at nakikinig
ngunit hindi nakakarinig ni nakakaunawa. Natutupad nga sa kanila ang hula ni
Isaias na nagsasabi: ‘Makinig man kayo nang making, hindi kayo nakakaunawa, At
tumingin man kayo ng tumingin, hindi kayo makakikita. Sapagkat maging mapurol
ang isip ng mga taong ito; Mahirap makarinig ang kanilang mga tainga. At
ipinikit nila ang kanilang mga mata. Kung di gayon, disin sana’y makakita ang
kanilang mga mata. Nakarinig ang kanilang mga tainga, Nakaunawa ang kanilang
mga isip, At nagbalik- loob sa akin, At pinagaling ko sila, sabi ng Panginoon.
They come broken, bruised, hurt
and struggling and they don’t get healed or better. The reason that they don’t get better is: They come with their ears but refuse to
hear. They come with their eyes but
refuse to see. They come with their heart but refuse to perceive. It’s because
the state on which they come that keep them fixing what is wrong. That’s why
even they have been in the church for so long, nothing’s change. The Word of
God is like not working. The sermon is not fixing anything; it’s like good
inspirational moments.
He that hears will get more but
the one who does not hear will lose what he heard. You may like the crowd, like the parable,
like the story, and like the way it was told, these will be taken away (Matthew
13:12)
CONCLUSION:
I remember
my first time attending in a social gathering – a special wedding in a
beautiful restaurant. We had a special table, that’s the wedding of Sis Dang
Paruginog if you remember her. She was one of the faithful sisters in the Lord
on that time; she died after days or a month of her wedding. As a full-time
worker on that time, she had a big hand especially for workers. Before I get
emotional here, let’s go back to what we’re talking – the venue of the wedding;
during the reception we were given a scrumptious appetizer. I gave my full
attention to the appetizer (I thought that was it). I was already full when the
meal was served. I was satisfied with the appetizer. It’s like that I chose to
love the appetizer not the meal. Appetizers can be sweet, nice and enjoyable. It’s
supposed to work like this, it’s supposed to set you up for the coming meal.
But if the appetizer is all you want or you feel it’s all you need, there’s a
problem.
Why I say
this? People love the appetizer not the meal. What’s my point? Hearing the
bible preached is an appetizer. Once you hear the sermon, no matter how much
you like it or enjoy it all we got is an appetizer. The disciples said, “we
want the meal.” What does it mean on what you just taught? They asked Jesus
what’s the explanation of the parable. Some Christians are satisfied the verses, the
story mentioned in the sermon but it has not something to do in their lives.
They’re satisfied hearing the sermon but not applied to their lives. They might
say, “It’s an excellent sermon and that’s it.” I remember a member before told,
“That’s a one of the best sermons I’ve heard but I didn’t go forward because I
checked my spiritual life and I’m fine.”
I was young worker that time but in my mind I don’t agree with what she
said because I think the sermon was for her too. What I see she can’t see.
The seed is
the Word of God and it will remain a seed unless you put the seed in the
ground. A seed must be put in a situation to grow.
The Bible says, “But blessed are your eyes, for
they see: and your ears, for they hear.”
MATTHEW 13:16
