App
Go To Meeting
Eduardo Elizondo—December 4, 2020
- PDF | Audio | [Up]
We're going to talk about the ground, the seed, and the Word of God. It's very interesting, some things that we can hopefully see from a little different perspective today as to one of the most important aspects in our Christian walk with God the Father and Jesus Christ.
Parable of the Sower
Matthew 13:3: "And He [Jesus] …spoke many things to them in parables, saying, 'Behold, the sower went out to sow. And as he was sowing, some of the seed fell by the way; and the birds came and devoured them. And some fell upon the rocky places, where they did not have much soil; and immediately they sprang up because the soil was not deep enough; but after the sun rose, they were scorched; and because they did not have roots, they dried up. And some of the seed fell among the thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. And some fell upon the good ground, and yielded fruit—some a hundredfold, and some sixtyfold, and some thirtyfold. The one who has ears to hear, let him hear'" (vs 3-9).
This parable talks about the Word of God; the sower going out to sow. There are many things we can talk about in this parable. We can talk about all the different places and all the different soils that the seed fell upon and what happened to it.
We're going to go to all three place were this parable is mentioned and put the pieces together and see some of other things about this parable. Not only the things that are here on the surface as first sight.
He says that their eyes are blessed to see, as are our eyes to be able to see some of these things and to understand these things. Then He explains the parable:
Verse 18: "Therefore, hear the parable of the sower: When anyone hears the Word of the Kingdom and does not understand it, the wicked one comes and snatches away that which was sown in his heart" (vs 18-19).
Then here is the first clue as to what was sown in his heart; "…This is the one who was sown by the way" (v 19). He is explaining what all of this means:
Verse 20: "Now, the one who was sown upon the rocky places is the one who hears the Word and immediately receives it with joy."
Very happy about the word that he heard; very happy about the news of this new understanding. This is huge, and something different. This is tangible and important here.
Verse 21: "But because he has no root in himself…"
Verse 19: "…that which was sown in his heart…"
Verse 21: "…he does not endure; for when tribulation or persecution arises because of the Word, he is quickly offended." There's no root!
Verse 22: "And the one who was sown among the thorns is the one who hears the Word, but the cares of this life and the deceitfulness of riches choke the Word, and it becomes unfruitful."
There is a deceit that riches can give us happiness. That riches—whether financial or some other kind of riches: ideas, knowledge, understanding certain things—can "…choke the Word, and it becomes unfruitful."
Verse 23: "But the one who was sown on good ground, this is the one who hears the Word and understands, who indeed brings forth fruit and produces—one a hundredfold, another sixtyfold and another thirtyfold."
It is very interesting that the one who is sown on good ground hears and understands the Word. We can assume that the other things that He just explained do not happen to the one who was sown on good ground, because he has root, soil and root in itself! There's no deceitfulness of riches to choke it. That's the thorns in this parable.
We're going to go to all three places where this parable is mentioned. We won't read it again, but we're going to see something very interesting.
Mark 4—after He already mentioned the parable, we're going to see something that He said:
Mark 4:13: "And He said to them, 'Don't you understand this parable? Then how will you know all the other parables?'"
This is a key message here. This parable is crucial to understand all other parables! It is something that establishes the foundation, that gives us a little more understanding of what our entire calling is about.
Verse 14: "The sower sows the Word." It's capitalized correctly here, because the Word is Jesus Christ Himself!
John 1:1: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with the God, and the Word was God."
The Sower sows the Word; this is Christ Himself!
Verse 15: "Now the ones by the way, where the Word was sown… [the Word is Christ, the Word of God] …these are the ones who hear, but Satan comes at once and takes away the Word that was sown in their hearts."
This is where God sows. The Sower sows the Word in their heart! But Satan comes and takes away that heart! That's what happens to the ones by the way, because it's the birds that eat it. It doesn't even get grounded.
Verse 16: "And the ones which were in like manner sown upon the rocky places, these are the ones who when they hear the Word, immediately receive it with joy."
The earth is more concentrated in smaller places, and in certain ways it's easier for any seed to grow quickly. That's exactly what it says. It says they "….immediately receive it with joy…" and it can spring, because the neutral zone is for that seed. There are no other seeds, nothing else going around.
The ones that are by the way, the way is trodden upon all the time. It's hard, it's dirt that's compacted and dead, there's no nutrients. It's not like rich soil. That's why it doesn't grow; it doesn't really get implanted.
The second place is among the rocks, it's in between. So, you can get implanted and actually spring, and even quicker because there's more oxygen, too. The water flows from the rocky places, and from the rocks it flows into the earth. That's where it's going to go so it has an abundance of water in the beginning. Then it grows quickly and immediately receive it with joy.
Verse 17: "But because they have no root in themselves…"
That's the downside of planting among the rocks. Sometimes you can have a lot of water, a lot of air, but no place for the root to grow and really stay and take root and be strong and grow, and keep growing. As a plant continues to grow the root continues to expand, as well.
"…they do not endure; when tribulation or persecution arises because of the Word, they are quickly offended" (v 17). There's no root! It's shallow and easily taken out!
Verse 18: "And those which were sown among the thorns… [that's fine, that's not rocks] …these are the ones who hear the Word, but the cares of this life…" (vs 18-19)
These are the external things; the things that we have to take care of and are important and can't wait until tomorrow and really take up that mental space. The emotional space, that time and effort.
"…and the deceitfulness of riches…" (v 19).
As I mentioned, the deceitful of whatever riches; it doesn't have to be financial, but that's very prevalent. The deceitful that when you're a millionaire that you will be happy. When I have this house, this car, have financial security, when I can help others, help my family. That's deceitfulness!
"…and the lusts of other things that come into their lives…" (v 19). That's three things:
- cares of life
- deceitfulness of riches
- lust of other things
Sometimes it's like, 'Okay, now I have money or resources, but now I want to go see the world and have this experience.' It could be things, money, people, experiences, anything! All of these things:
"…choke the Word, and it becomes unfruitful" (v 19).
It's not that it's not there, it's not that it's not sown, but as other things takeover like the weeds that takeover plants. The thorns that becomes unfruitful. It's there, but it doesn't grow and produce.
Verse 20: "Now, those which were sown upon the good ground…"
The soil that is rich, full of nutrients, minerals and organisms. If you have good soil, and sure that some of you are way more familiar with plants and growing things than I am in my limited understanding. The soil has all this nutrients, and in order to produce abundantly you have to amend the soil and you have to create good soil. The nutrients come from that; the plant grows from that.
There's life from that soil, not dirt. There's nothing in dirt, but in good soil it's moist and rich, thick and full of all of these things. That's where plants really thrive.
"….these are the ones who hear the Word and receive it, and bring forth fruit…" (v 20)—because the plant seed gets in that rich soil and starts absorbing the nutrients!
That seed has all the genetic things that it needs, but it doesn't have the nutrients, what it takes to produce. It has what it takes, but it needs the soil, the water, the sun, the warmth; all of those things together to really get rooted and grow the plant and start to produce.
"…the good ground are the ones who hear the Word… [gets planted in the heart, where the Word of God is planted] …and receive it, and bring forth fruitone thirtyfold, and one sixtyfold, and one a hundredfold" (v 20).
This is in the opposite order. The other parable was more to less, but still produced. This one is for lower to high. That's is what we're going to talk about, that good ground!
We understand that the Sower of the seed sows the Word.
Luke 8:11: "Now this is the parable: The Seed is the Word of God…"
This is more clear; it's not just the Sower of the Word, the Seed is the Word of God.
- How is He the Seed?
- Why He calls Himself the Seed?
This is Jesus speaking, and He is the Word of God! So, He's calling Himself the Seed.
Verse 12: "And those that fell by the road are the ones who hear, but the devil comes and takes away the Word from their heart, lest they should believe and be saved. And those that fell upon the rock are the ones who, when they hear, receive the Word with joy; but these do not have any root, who believe only for a while… [more detail added on as we read all three accounts] …and in time of trial fall away. And those that fell into the thorns are the ones who have heard, but are choked…" (vs 12-14)—the people are choked!
We understand that it is a parable, but those people who fell in the thorns:
"…while pursuing the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and do not bring any fruit to maturity" (v 14).
It implies action, implies intention; it implies that these who are among the thorns pursue the cares, riches and pleasures of life; everything that life has to offer! The problem is that because of that, they do not bring any fruit to maturity.
Verse 15: "And those that fell on the good ground are the ones who, in a right and good heart… [the soil] …hear the Word and keep it… [like the pearl of great price; they have it, and they know they have it] …and bring forth fruit with endurance."
They are dedicated to that Seed, dedicated to grow. That ground is full of richness and nutrients. It's ground that you dig up with your hand and you see worms and all kinds of creatures in the ground. You see that it's moist and rich! It's wonderful and full of nutrients. You can plant the seed in there and it doesn't take much as long as you keep watering and weeding it, and providing the right environment with the sun, the compost and all of these things.
That's what it's talking about, a right and good heart! "…hear the Word and keep it, and bring forth fruit with endurance" (v 15).
There's no coincidence this parable and why it's important to understand though there are other parables. It's talking about the good ground and that good ground is a good heart!
Genesis 1:26: "And God said, 'Let Us make man in Our image…'"
Do we have the image of God? We do, because God has a head, eyes, mouth, arms, everything! We are made in His image! We reflect and bear the image of the heavenly Ones: God the Father and Jesus Christ!
"…after Our likeness…" (v 26).
Are we like God? In some things, yes, but not in everything. We're still a work in process. That's what They are still actively involved in doing; making us in Their likeness.
"…and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the fowl of heaven and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that crawls upon the earth.' And God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him. He created them male and female" (vs 26-27).
This is very, very interesting, and a very important part of how God designed it all. How God created mankind.
Genesis 2:7: "Then the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground… [the good ground] …and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life…"
If we stop here for a minute and we understand that we were made of the dust of the good ground, He made us from the soil, from these nutrients. We're made of that. That's why when we die we decompose as well into the earth. We were made from the earth—man and woman! He made us both with His hands from the dust of the earth.
He made man, and He took the rib out of man, which is made from the dust of the ground, and also fashioned the woman: Eve.
So, we are all made of the dust of the ground. That is our matter, the good ground. This heart that we have physically, it literally tells us that it's made of the ground of the earth! And He says it in the parable, in the good and righteous heart, the good ground!
That's going to be the focus of the rest of this study: the good ground. The air that we breathe, He breathed that into the nostrils of Adam. It's God's own breath in our lungs! That's from generation to generation! From Adam and Eve all the way to us!
We have a very strong connection with God, even from the physical. We were made—created—by Him, specifically; a specific design from the earth, the dust of the ground, this good ground.
Let's keep this in mind as we continue to study this good ground and what it means to have good ground! Not only receiving the Word, but thinking about the Seed, the Sower, and thinking about the growing, the overcoming and the fruits.
John 12:23: "But Jesus answered them, saying, 'The time has come for the Son of man to be glorified…. [obviously talking about Himself] …Truly, truly I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit" (vs 23-24).
He's talking about Himself as a grain, or seed and how it has to fall to the ground and die. As a seed it has to die, it has to open, it has to decompose into the earth to form that plant. It's starts to grow from that.
It says: "…but if it dies, it bears much fruit" (v 24).
That's exactly why Jesus came; to die for all of us and bear that fruit in us, living in the good ground, in our heart! He not only talks about Himself that way, He also tells us, and sets an example for us also:
Verse 25: "The one who loves his life shall lose it, and the one who hates his life in this world shall keep it unto eternal life."
The one who loves his life. Do you love your life, the cares of this world and all of these things. You can lose it! You can lose it by:
- deceitfulness of riches
- because you don't have the ground in yourself
- if we're not grounded in the Word of God
If the Word of God is not grounded in us, in our heart, it goes both ways.
"…and the one who hates his life in this world…"—knowing that our life, as Jesus Christ said:
The life of man does not consist of the goods that he has.
It does not! But "…the one who hates his life in this world…"—because our lives are in God, that we will keep on to eternal life!
Verse 26: "If anyone will serve Me… [every person who comes to God with a good and righteous heart] …let him follow Me… [follow His example, His Word] …and where I am… [led by the Holy Spirit as we understand] …there shall My servant be also. And if anyone serves Me… [the Master in heaven above] …him shall the Father honor."
He came to die so that that grain, that Seed would die and be implanted in our heart and it would grow; grow and bear much fruit, as He expects from us.
That really what baptism is all about. We're starting to see how all these things tie together in our calling and in the good ground and what God expects from us from that good ground that we want to have.
The good ground is not an accident. Now more than ever, as our soil is very depleted around the world, it needs to be tended, mended and have all the nutrients, compost and natural additives, natural things that enhance it. It needs to have calcium, all of these things for the plants to really grow and thrive.
It's very, very important, and it's just exactly as it is in our heart like that. If we think about our heart as ground that has to be tilled and all of these nutrients have to come in. Sometimes compost smells really bad! Many times our lives smell really bad; things that we do and say. We hurt people. We don't mean to do that, but we do.
It's part of our nature also, part of the process of God tilling this ground and preparing it, and planting the seed; making sure that that seed takes root. Then it grows and it bears fruit constantly. But this good ground—our heart—has to be constantly prepared and repaired from all of the things that we're up against.
Romans 6:1: "What then shall we say? Shall we continue in sin so that grace may abound? MAY IT NEVER BE! We who died to sin… [as a seed] …how shall we live any longer therein? Or are you ignorant that we, as many as were baptized into Christ Jesus, were baptized into His death?" (vs 1-3).
Paul joins together with how Christ died. We are to die also, when we come into this covenant with God, He pledges His death, but so do we! He is our example!
Verse 4: "Therefore, we were buried with Him through the baptism into the death… [the death of Christ Himself] …so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father…"
How He died and became a grain and He produced and is producing lots of children for God's Family. He is the Seed that the Father planted.
"…in the same way, we also should walk in newness of life" (v 4).
After we're baptized we're a new creation. We're not born, yet; but we are created now, we are now spiritual children of God in the development. Not born, but as in the womb.
Verse 5: "For if we have been conjoined together in the likeness of His death….[when He was explaining that He was about the die as a grain in order to produce] …so also shall we be in the likeness of His resurrection."
This is a promise that we shall be like Him in the likeness of His resurrection; be raised just as He was. He came and lived as a human being, as we live and struggle every day. But we have to be certain of this.
Verse 6: "Destroyed…"—the death that Christ was talking about; not only His but the example of how we are also to die unto sin.
"…so that we might no longer be enslaved to sin; because the one who has died to sin has been justified from sin" (vs 6-7). We walk now in newness of life!
Verse 8: "Now, if we died together with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more; death no longer has any dominion over Him" (vs 8-9).
Just as Jesus Christ said, 'The one who loses his life shall gain it!' Shall have it in His Kingdom!
So, as we're living unto Christ, if we are living unto Christ, then death will no longer have dominion over us! Then we're able to believe that Scripture where He says, 'Do not fear those who are able to kill the body'; they're not able to do anything else. Why? Because
- our life is in Christ
- our life is in the Word
- our life is in that Seed
Our life is not in ourselves! It's not our own!
- Our life is Him!
- Our life is Jesus Christ!
- Our life is God the Father!
We're the workmanship of Their hands, because we're being fashioned after Their likeness! But it has to be good ground, and They're in charge of that.
Verse 10: "For when He died, He died unto sin once for all; but in that He lives, He lives unto God. In the same way also, you should indeed reckon yourselves to be dead to sin…" (vs 10-11).
Sin no longer has power over us; the power to enslave us and bring us again to the same old sins for the rest of our lives. If we are doing this; if we give ourselves to God and to Their purpose.
"…but alive to God through Christ Jesus our Lord" (v 11).
It is that operation that we're going to see. It's that joint operation that ties all these things together.
John 15:1—Jesus is talking about Himself: "I am the true vine, and My Father is the Husbandman."
So, it is the Father that puts His Word—Jesus Christ—in our heart, our good ground. This heart is not an allegory, not an analogy. They are made from the dust of the earth. They are from the ground. They are good ground and have received the Word. That's why you are all here. That's why you're listening, because there is a calling, and you have made a covenant with Him through baptism.
The Father is the Husbandman; it's very clear! He plants that Seed in our heart.
Verse 5: "I am the vine, and you are the branches. The one who is dwelling in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit…"
We are to have Christ in our heart, because He is the One Who is going to make all of these produce. A branch does not produce fruit. The branch is just a conduit for the water, nutrients, growth, for the fruit to hang from that branch.
"…The one who is dwelling in Me, and I in him…"
That is how we can understand this from the point of view that if we're dwelling in the Word of God. IF we're studying and His Word is dwelling richly in our mind and heart THEN we will bear fruit. Not because of our own, but He will give us the fruit, because He lives in us. We are the branches and are dwelling in Him. "…The one who is dwelling in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit…"
That's His desire; the desire of the Husbandman and the Seed/Vine—the Father and the Son doing this joint operation in us. The Father is seeding His Word in our heart and mind.
"…because apart from Me you can do nothing" (v 5).
We know that the laws and commandments of God and all His words are to be written in our heart and mind. That's the good ground!. If we really have His commandments, if we have His words dwelling richly in us, the fruit will be evident. But the fruit takes time. We have to be patient with one another. We have be patient with the work that God is carrying out.
A plant does not grow overnight, and it certainly fruit overnight. We have a small garden in our backyard, and the brussel sprout plants are amazing, big. They grew and there were no brussel sprouts whatsoever until very recently, until the cold season. Then there were all these brussel sprouts there. They were not there overnight. It took time. But they were growing and everything was developing, but very slowly. It seemed like we weren't going to get anything.
Sometimes that's the way our lives are. We might think that we're not producing fruit or something is wrong with us. We can get discouraged. But we have to trust Them and we have to know and understand that it is not our work. It is the work of the Father and Jesus Christ in us. Our job is to yield to Them, to put good ground where They can do Their work. It's not our work! Where Their work can flourish and take root and nurtured with all those nutrients from the ground that They put in there.
That can make that plant grow and produce 30, 60 and 100-fold. That's the whole operation of conversion, of having that seed in our heart through:
- studying the Word of God
- meditating on those words
- stopping and thinking about them as we read
1-Cor. 15 is a beautiful summary of this operation that we've been studying so far. It's like the end result, not just a summary. But it really brings to life everything that God is doing.
1-Corinthians 15:41: "There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for one star differs from another star in glory. So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption" (vs 41-42).
- Are we in the flesh? Yes!
- Do we sin? Yes!
- Do we have corruption within us? Yes!
We're not under, be we still have the law of sin and death; we will have it the rest of our lives. We're not under Law, but under grace; but still have the law of sin and death, and that's corruption! That's where it is sown. The Word of God is sown in your heart in corruption. While we were still sinners, Christ died for the ungodly. We're still sinners and still make mistakes. We still struggle with many things. Half the battle is just to acknowledge that.
This is not an easy way. I know that many of you are going through a lot of trials, a lot of tribulations. But it says that "…it is raised in incorruption" (v 42).
All of this will pass. It says, 'bring forth fruit with endurance.' Then it is "…raised in incorruption'; in a spiritual body.
Verse 43: "It is sown in dishonor…"
Are we dishonorable? Yes, in many things! We make many mistakes, and we offend and hurt people, and we get deceived sometimes about certain things. We make many mistakes. We fail quite a bit, often. We stumble, because it is sown in dishonor, sown in corruption. That doesn't mean it's going to stay there. It does not mean that we're not going to persevere, but it say:
"…it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness…" (v 43).
We do have weaknesses, but the process of conversion, the process that God the Father—the Husbandman—and Jesus Christ—the Seed and the Vine—what They're doing in our heart and mind. Let's remember that it's Him dwelling in us and us dwelling in Him. He says, 'The one who is dwelling in Me, and I in him." It goes both ways. We have to dwell in His Word, and He has to dwell in our heart!
If we do this, if we re sown in weakness and we let Them do Their work, our job is to yield to Them in meekness, which is the ability to be guided by the Holy Spirit of God. But if it's sown in weakness:
"…it is raised in power" (v 43). It is not our own! We have no power. Jesus Christ said, 'Apart from Me you can do nothing, nothing!' We will be raised in power if we're bringing forth fruit with endurance!
- if we don't dismay
- if we don't 'throw in the towel'
- if we take a step back when we see that it is Their operation
That God our Father is the Husbandman! That God our Father, Who loves us so much, Who created us with His own hands from the dust of the earth!
We believe that with all of our heart that They will complete it! It's a promise! Knowing that the One Who has begun the good work will finish it! We know that!
Verse 44: It is sown a natural body… [this body that we read about in Genesis] …it is raised a spiritual body…."
That's exactly what we're after; not for our own but to His glory, so that the world can see what God is capable of doing! That the whole world would know that there's a God on the earth Who loves us more than can explain. Who loves all His creation and all His people. To those who turn to Him, who have a good and righteous heart toward Him.
It's just a heart toward Him! He's not asking for much, only our life, everything. That we don't hold onto anything of our own.
"…There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body" (v 44).
Jesus Christ said, 'My words that I speak to you, they are Spirit and they are Life! That's the Seed in our heart, in our good ground! It's not good of our own, it's good because He wants to make it good, because He wants to work in it. He has plans for each and every one of us. It's not going to be easy; it's going to be great! In the end it's going to be so worth it. That's the spiritual body!
Verse 45: "Accordingly, it is written, 'The first man, Adam, became a living soul… [from the dust of the earth] …the last Adam became an ever-living Spirit.'"
That's why He came and spoke these words, Spirit and Life, so that they would be implanted in our heart.
Verse 46: "However, the spiritual was not first…"
- we are made of the dust of the earth
- we are corruption
let's just face it
- we are dishonor
- we are weakness
But:
- He is incorruption
- He is glory
- He us power
- He is spirit
And He wants all of those things for us! To develop those things in us now, these shells. He is developing children for His very own Family. That's what He wants! It says:
Verse 45: "…The first man, Adam, became a living soul, the last Adam became an ever-living Spirit." That's our destiny!
Verse 46: "…but the natural—then the spiritual. The first man is of the earth—made of dust…."
Absolutely clear! Absolutely tied to the very first parable, and is key to understand all other parables as to what God is doing in our lives.
"…The second Man is the Lord from heaven" (v 47).
That's exactly how God the Father wants us to become; just like His Son Jesus Christ.
- with the same mind
- with the same attitude
- with the same yieldedness to Him
- being full of the Holy Spirit
- being taught by Him every morning
- That's exactly what He wants!
- That's exactly what He desires!
- That's exactly what He demands of us!
- because He's investing in us
- because He loves us
Verse 48: "As is the one made of dust, so also are all those who are made of dust…"
Of this good ground, or rocky place or some of the other places as we saw in the parable.
"…and as is the heavenly One, so also are all those who are heavenly" (v 48).
We are, brethren, we have made the commitment; we are heavenly! Not because of our own! We don't have immortality, yet. We still have some of these things. We're still struggling, and the conversion process is still going on until the day we die. That conversion process is still taking place, but we have to trust the Husbandman!
We have to trust the Word, and we have to go to the Word, dwell in the Word and let the Word dwell in us!
Verse 49: "And as we have borne the image of the one made of dust…"
We read the Bible and we know that it is literal! We know that God made Adam from the dust of the ground with His own hands. That is a fact! We believe the Word of God!
"…we shall also bear the image of the heavenly One" (v 49).
What a great promise that we have! What an amazing promise that we will bear the image also of the heavenly One! There are examples in the Bible like Moses when he was coming down from the mountain and his face was shining just like Christ's!
That's the image of the heavenly One; a very small token of it. The Transfiguration with the three disciples who saw it. It's something amazing to know and understand that we will bear the image of the heavenly One.
This theme is all over the Bible! This instruction and understanding, it's all over.
Psalm 126:5: "Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy." Those tears are for our Savior on the cross! He was sowing! He will reap in joy on the Sea of Glass!
He will reap; as it says in Revelation, 'get your sickle out and get all of these fruits, because they're Mine, and they have been perfected!'
Verse 6: "He who goes forth and weeps, bearing precious seed… [we are precious in God's eyes; His Seed is precious in us] …shall doubtless come home with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him." This is prophecy of the Sea of Glass!
God tells us a lot more about this operation. There are so many things to know, to ponder and get deep into. To understand them!
Psalm 65:9: "You visit the earth and water it; You enrich it greatly; the river of God is full of water… [we know that's the Holy Spirit] …You provide their grain, for in this way You have prepared it. You water its ridges abundantly; You deepen its furrows; You make it soft with showers; You bless its growth" (vs 9-10).
It's so amazing how all of this happens, and how God designed it to happen in a physical way so that we would understand the spiritual operation of this, as well.
Sometimes it looks like it's just raining in our lives, raining and raining, but what He's doing is making it soft. He's making that good ground soft with showers, and then He says that you're blessed. It's after that storm that it's rich and moist, full of water and the sun comes out and then it grows. That's what He's doing in our lives.
If you're going through a storm right now, God is making it soft with showers; that's what He's doing. He has not left you, nor forsaken you! That's a promise! He is making it soft with showers, blessing the growth!
Verse 11: "You crown the year with Your goodness, and Your paths drop fatness." God provides abundantly! Tie in Matt. 13: the one who has shall be given an abundance!
Verse 12: "They drop upon the pastures of the wilderness… [how beautiful this is] …and the little hills gird themselves with joy."
It says the earth will sing to God! It's alive! It's interesting how many organisms and things are being exposed about the soil. How much richness there is and how the microbio on the earth; sadly it's been depleted now with all the farming, chemicals and all of these things that we've done that were not designed by God, but harms us. Now we have to create it organically, when everything was created organic by God.
So, it's the same in the microbium, all these microbials, because we're made from the dust of the ground. It's so interesting that all of these researchers in health and agriculture are starting to realize these things when it was always in the Word of God. That this richness of the flora.
In our intestines there's millions and millions of different bacteria—good bacteria and things that are needed—and so are they in the earth. They're made from the same ground. God does not lie, ever!
Verse 13: "The pastures are clothed with flocks; the valleys also are covered over with grain; they shout for joy and sing."
It's the meditation of all the works of God. Yes, this is in a physical sense, but it also applies to the spiritual. This is more of the spiritual application of it:
Psalm 65:1: Praise waits for You, O God, in Zion…" It's waiting! We will be there singing praises to God, if we endure to the end! If we bring forth fruit with endurance in this good ground.
"…and to You shall the vow be performed. O You Who hears prayer…" (vs 1-2).
God hears and loves our prayers; to hear about our day and be honest and open with Him, just like we talk to a friend. It says that Abraham was God's friend! Talk to God like that!
"…unto You shall all flesh come. Iniquities prevail against me… [David was honest] …as for our transgressions, You shall forgive them" (vs 2-3).
This is a struggle; this is not easy. This is very hard, but it's very worth it!
Verse 4: "Blessed is the one whom You choose and cause to come near You, that he may dwell in Your courts… [Jesus said, 'the one who dwells in Me and I in him.'] …we shall be satisfied with the goodness of Your house…"
David said, 'Apart from You I want nothing, because my life is in You. Not only is my life in You, but my is You! If I don't have You, I don't have anything! That's why David wrote this.
"…we shall be satisfied with the goodness of Your house, even Your Holy temple" (v 4). That's exactly the promise, as we endure! Rev. 2 & 3, 'I shall make you pillars in the temple of My God, and you shall never go out.' That's the promise of the Church of Philadelphia!
Verse 5: "By awesome works in righteousness…"
What more awesome work can there be than Christ dwelling in us literally through His Spirit? His Word in our heart!
"…You will answer us, O God of our salvation; You are the hope of all the ends of the earth and of those of the distant sea. The mountains are established by Your strength; You are clothed with power" (vs 5-6).
David is meditating on the God Whom he serves, and the God Whom we all serve; of His power, strength, gentleness, love and understanding. For us to know God, to know that He's dwelling in us and that we are dwelling in Him.
Verse 7: "You Who still the roaring of the sea, the noise of their waves, and the uproar of the peoples…. [He is the God of the whole earth] … And the inhabitants of the furthermost places of the earth stand in awe of Your signs…" (vs 7-8).
So should we; we should stand in awe of everything that He has done and is doing—even the midst of tribulation, affliction and our trials—of what He's doing in our heart and mind. That is the most important thing!
"…You make the beginning of the morning and the evening to rejoice" (v 8).
This good ground, we all have it IF we yield to Him! IF we deny ourselves and pick up our cross daily, every day, and follow Christ; follow His Word in reading, but reading to know Him!
We know about God, but we know a lot about Him. The challenge for all of us now is
- Do we know Him?
- Do we know Them?
- Do we know God the Father and Jesus Christ?
We all do! That will continue to the end of our lives! I just want to encourage all of us to continue know Them!
To know God the Father, the Husbandman Who is doing this work, and to Whom we belong! Let His Word dwell richly in us, in our heart, and produce fruit thirty-fold, sixty-fold and 100-fold!
Scriptural References:
- Matthew 13:3-9, 18-21, 19, 21-23
- Mark 4:13-14
- John 1:1
- Mark 4:14-20
- Luke 8:11-15
- Genesis 1:26-27
- Genesis 2:7
- John 12:23-26
- Romans 6:1-11
- John 15:1, 5
- 1 Corinthians 15:41-46, 45-49
- Psalm 126:5-6
- Psalm 65:9-13, 1-8
Scripture referenced, not quoted: Revelation 2; 3
EE:bo
Transcribed: 4/20/22
Copyright 2021—All rights reserved. Except for brief excerpts for review purposes, no part of this publication may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means without the written permission of the copyright owner. This includes electronic and mechanical photocopying or recording, as well as the use of information storage and retrieval systems.
