Your Heart and the Word Matt 13:19-23 CLICK TITLE FOR AUDIO

We know from Is 55:10-11 that the word of God does not return void.  And yet, we also know that the word is more fruitful in some hearts than it is in others.  So, today we are going to preach on your heart and the word.  We will be using the parable of the sower and the seed from Matthew 13:3-8, 18-23; Mark 4:3-8, 14-20; and Luke 8:5-8, 11-15 as our texts.

Your Heart Affects the Fruitfulness of the Word When:

It’s like the wayside.  This is a heart that doesn’t understand the word because, like the Pharisees, it is waxed gross [Matt 13:15].  Before the seed can even settle in to sprout, it is trodden under foot [as in our faced paced society (Dan 12:4)] and the devil comes and takes it out of the heart [2 Cor 4:4].

It’s like stony ground.  This is a heart that is so hard the seed sprouts but doesn’t live long enough to even set down a root.  Before the seed can even produce a root, tribulation [Acts 14:22], persecution [2 Thes 1:4], affliction [2 Cor 11:23-28] and temptation [Rev 2:10] arise and you are offended [Jn 6:61-66] and fall away. We have seen many a Christian bail out on the Lord when their families “persecuted” them for becoming Christians, and so forth.  You have to endure some of these things if the word is ever going to be fruitful in your life.

It‘s like thorny soil.  This is a heart that starts out good enough to let the plant start to grow but it is also a heart that cares for this world, is deceived by riches, lusts for other things and loves the pleasures of this life [2 Tim 3:4].  Like Demas, you get a little done for the Lord but eventually the world chokes out your fruit.

It‘s like good ground.  This is a heart that understands the word [comes from the fear of the Lord], is honest and good and keeps the word [in spite of the things above].  Patiently, the word bears fruit.  Some bear more than others because the word brings forth what it will in each of these hearts.

Conclusion: Why don’t you develop an honest and good heart so that the word can do what it will in your life?