This parable illustrates the importance of the Word of God. God’s Word contains total power, but it has to be planted in our hearts and allowed to germinate before it releases that power.

The seed is God’s Word, and the types of ground are the four major categories of men’s hearts. The Word was the same in each situation, but there were different results in each case because of the condition of men’s hearts – not because of the Word. The Word doesn’t work for everyone because not everyone will allow the Word to work. The variable in this parable is the condition of these hearts. God’s Word is always the same. It has the same potential in every heart.

Good ground doesn’t just happen; it must be cultivated. This is the reason why only one out of four persons in Jesus’ parable brought forth fruit. It takes a lot of time, effort, and diligence to be a fruitful Christian. The Christian life is not like a hundred-yard dash but rather a 26.2 mile marathon. It’s quicker and easier to raise weeds than it is to raise tomatoes or corn.

In this whole parable, it was the Word that produced the fruit. The ground simply gave it a place to grow. If we will simply put God’s Word in our hearts, protect it, and give it priority in our lives, the Word will produce fruit of itself. Satan has deceived many people into thinking that they don’t have the talents or abilities to be fruitful Christians, but they are not the ones who bring forth fruit; it’s God’s Word. When we protect the Word sown in our hearts, it will do the rest.

It is through the reading of the Word and the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit that Christ in His fullness is known. What a privilege it is today to have God’s Word in our own language. Six hundred years ago there was no English translation of the whole Bible. Thanks to the efforts of John Wycliffe (1384) and William Tyndale (1523), today we are able to read and understand the writings of the apostles for ourselves. Men gave their lives to bring us God’s Word. We should take advantage of this wonderful privilege.

The piece of armor known as the “sword of the Spirit” is the only piece of armor that has the ability to cut, wound, and hurt our enemy, the devil. It’s not the Bible lying on your coffee table that makes the enemy flee, but it is the Word of God hidden in your heart, activated by the power of the Holy Spirit, and spoken in an appropriate situation. It’s similar to what is spoken when Jesus said in John 6:63, that “…the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life.” The Word by itself doesn’t make us free. It is the Word we know and speak that will deliver us (Jn. 8:32).

Why is the Word so effective? It’s because it is the WORD of God. It has authority, because it is indeed the WORD of God. God’s Word supersedes all authority of the church, of reason, of intellect, and even of Satan himself.

It is the Holy Spirit that wields this Word as it is spoken in faith. Speaking God’s Word in faith brings the Holy Spirit into action. In Luke 4, when Jesus was tempted of the devil for forty days, it was the Word of God, that Jesus used to defeat the enemy in the time of His temptation. Jesus constantly met His temptation by quoting from God’s Word as He repeatedly stated the phrase, “It is written.” Likewise, the Christian soldier must avail himself of God’s Word by placing it in his heart, so that the Holy Spirit may bring it forth at the appropriate time to accomplish a complete and total victory. It’s yours!

The word “waxed” means “to become gradually more intense or to increase” and shows that this condition of the heart is not something we are born with or that strikes us suddenly. It has to be nurtured over a prolonged period of time. This is why we should not violate our conscience, even in small things. Guarding our conscience will keep us sensitive to God and will stop our hearts from becoming hardened. If we will stay faithful to God, even in the small things, then we will be faithful in the more important things also.

Keeping the commandments doesn’t affect God’s willingness to love us, but it affects our awareness of how much He loves us. If we live in sin, our conscience becomes defiled and it condemns us. It’s not God condemning us, but our conscience. God still loves us. John was speaking of this same thing in 1 John 3:20, when he said, “For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.” However, as far as this earthly life goes, our awareness of God’s love is everything. Therefore, we must keep Satan from blinding us to the love of God.

The most effective way of doing this is to give no place to the devil through sin. John went on to say in 1 John 3:21, “Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God.” Holiness is essential in keeping our hearts assured of the love of God (1 Jn. 3:19). It’s the nature of a Christian to walk in the light and not in darkness. When you are rightly informed of who you are and what you have in Christ, holiness just naturally flows out of you. That’s your nature.

The Greek word translated “mystery” here, means “something that could not be known by men except by divine revelation, but that, though once hidden, has now been revealed in Christ and is to be proclaimed so that all who have ears may hear it.”

God’s truths are hidden for His children, not from them. God has given an open invitation to everyone to receive the spiritual rebirth which entitles them to the revelation of these mysteries of the Kingdom. But as stated in 1 Corinthians 2:14, a natural man cannot receive the things of the Spirit of God because they are spiritually discerned. Therefore, whoever rejects Jesus rejects the source of all wisdom and knowledge (Col. 2:3), thereby reserving the deep things of God for those who receive Jesus and draw on His wisdom through the Holy Spirit. This also safeguards the laws of God, upon which all the universe is founded, from being appropriated and misused by Satan’s kingdom.

In context, Jesus is speaking about those who have revelation knowledge of the mysteries of God. They will receive even more revelation and will walk in the abundant life that Jesus provided (Jn. 10:10; 2 Pet. 1:3). Those who do not receive God’s revelation will lose whatever truth they do have and will go farther and farther into deception. God reveals His truths to us in stages and not all at once (Isa. 28:9-10). Therefore, as we walk in the revelation of what the Lord has already shown us, He will reveal more of His truths to us.

The truths of God are mysterious only to those who do not soften their heart by seeking God with their whole heart. As Jeremiah 29:13 says, “And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.”

The Greek word used here for “doctrine” means “teaching” and occurs a total of 30 times in the New Testament. The four gospels refer to Jesus teaching 43 times and preaching 19 times, and six verses refer to Him preaching and teaching in the same verse. This would indicate that Jesus spent twice as much time teaching as He did preaching. Jesus’ teaching is the basic building block of making disciples and a stumbling block to the religious.

Why is it that a person who is seeking so hard to please God can be rejected, while a person who has not sought God at all can come into a righteous relationship with Him? This is an important question and its answer is one of the most profound doctrines in scripture. The answer is faith and its object.

The Jews were zealous for the things of God, but their faith was in themselves. They were trusting that they could earn God’s favor by their acts of righteousness. On the other hand, the Gentiles had no holiness to trust in. So, when they heard the Gospel message that Jesus paid our debt for us, they readily accepted His “gift” of salvation, while the religious Jews could not abandon their trust in themselves for salvation.

The same problem exists today. Millions of church people are trying to live holy lives, but they do not have a true faith in Jesus as their Savior. If they were to stand before God and He was to ask them what they had done to deserve salvation, they would immediately start recounting all their acts of holiness such as church attendance, giving receipts, etc. Regardless of how good our actions are compared to others, they always come short of the perfect standard of God. The only response to this kind of question that would grant us entrance to heaven is to say, “my only claim to salvation is faith in Jesus as my Savior.” Let Him be the object of your faith today. He is all you need.

Most often, verses 43-45 are used to teach about demon possession and deliverance from evil spirits. Jesus made it clear that getting rid of an unclean spirit is only a part of deliverance. You must also fill the place that was previously occupied by the demonic spirit with the presence and power of God as protection. If a person is cleansed from an evil spirit but left “empty,” the spirit will return with even more spirits and the individual will be much worse off. Simply being empty of the devil, but not full of God, is a very dangerous and short-lived condition. True deliverance is not only getting freed, but also staying free.

In context, these verses refer to Jesus’ rebuke of the scribes and Pharisees and His statement about the men of Nineveh and the queen of the south condemning them at the judgment. One of the laws of God concerning accountability is being dealt with here. As stated in Luke 12:48, “…For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required…” The people of Jesus’ day who rejected His message will be held more accountable at the judgment than the men of Nineveh or the Queen of Sheba, because Jesus’ witness and person was so much greater than either Jonah or Solomon. Just as a man who receives miraculous deliverance from an evil spirit becomes more accountable and will end up in even worse condition if he doesn’t walk in that accountability, so the people of Jesus’ generation were accountable for more than any other generation had ever been. A person would be better off to keep just one evil spirit than to be set free, not fill himself with God, and wind up with eight demonic spirits, seven of which were more wicked than the first. The scribes and Pharisees would have been better off to have never had Jesus bring the kingdom of God unto them than to reject such an offer. He has given you much, what will you do with it?

God created the heavens and the earth and everything that is in the earth by His words (Heb. 11:3). The whole creation was made by, and responds to, words. Our words, when spoken in faith, release either life or death (Prov. 18:21) and will affect people, things, and circumstances. We can release the power that is in faith by our words.

Every word counts. There is no such things as an “idle” word which will not work for us or against us. Our words can be our most powerful weapon against the devil, or they can become a snare of the devil (Prov. 6:2). Faith-filled words can move mountains.

The faith that made Jesus marvel was a faith in the authority of the spoken word (Mt. 8:8, 10). We are to believe in the power of our words. If we begin to speak words in faith that line up with God’s Word, then we will have the positive results that follow. But if we continue to speak words of doubt, we will eventually believe them and have the negative things that these words produce. Death or life are in the power of every word we speak.

Faith is released by speaking words. Jesus encouraged us to speak to mountains or to whatever our problem might be. Most people speak to God about their problem, but few follow Jesus’ instructions and speak directly to the “mountain.” God has put certain things under our authority and we must exercise it. When a problem stands in our way, we must speak to the problem and command it to get out of our way in the name of Jesus. Speak God’s Word today. His Words will produce life.

Our spirit is definitely a part of our heart, but as seen in 1 Peter 3:4, it is only a part. Sin, iniquity, unbelief, etc., come from the heart but not the born-again spirit. Hebrews 4:12 suggests that spirit and soul are both part of the heart; hence, the scriptures admonish us to believe with all our heart (Acts 8:37), have singleness of heart (Col. 3:22), and tell us our hearts can have two minds or ways of thinking (Jas. 4:8).

Even Christians still struggle with things like pride and foolishness which Jesus said came out of our heart. It’s certain that our born again spirit is not the source of these sins. The heart encompasses more than our spirit.

The English word “soul” comes from the Greek word “psuche,” translated “heart, life, mind, and soul.” The mind is the principle and leading part of the soul, followed by the will and emotions. We could also describe the soul as being the hidden part of all existing beings or what most people would call the personality. The soul is the center of the feelings and emotions, appetites and desires, as well as sense perception and consciousness. The soul may also speak of the totality of a person – his total being or self, a person, and the hidden man or inward man. The soul and the body do not get born again. It is the spirit of man that becomes totally new at salvation. So, although every believer receives the same miraculous spiritual rebirth, the visible results of that inward change will vary from person to person according to how much he renews his mind. The term “heart” can include all of the inner man – spirit, soul, or any portion thereof. The peace of God will keep your heart at rest in Christ Jesus. Let Him.

The word “blaspheme” means “to speak evil of; defame; or revile.” In context, Jesus is saying that blasphemy against the Holy Ghost is attributing the working of the Holy Spirit to the devil. Many people in the Bible did this, including Saul, who became the Apostle Paul. However, we see in 1 Timothy 1:13, that Paul said he received mercy concerning his blaspnemy because he had done it “ignorantly in unbelief.” Therefore, the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost that Jesus warns about must be the willful reviling of the Holy Ghost with knowledge of what is being done.

This parallels Hebrews 6:4-6, where qualifications are placed on those who can fall away from grace. This passage indicates that only a mature Christian can commit such a thing. Likewise, with blasphemy against the Holy Ghost, rash statements spoken against the Holy Spirit in ignorance or unbelief by those who don’t really know what they are doing can be forgiven.

From our human perspective, no clear line can be drawn as to when someone becomes accountable for blasphemies and has committed this unpardonable sin. We can be assured that God knows the hearts of all men and that He will judge righteously concerning this. However, God’s Word does show us that when anyone becomes a “reprobate,” they lose all conviction from God (Rom. 1:28).

Therefore, anyone who is convicted and repentant over having possibly blasphemed the Holy Ghost has not yet reached the place where it is unpardonable or they wouldn’t care. Keep your heart tender and sensitive to Him. Listen to His voice speak to you through His Word today.

Yokes were made of wood with two hollowed out sections on the bottom portion that rested on the necks of oxen, which used to plow or to draw a cart. Figuratively, a yoke symbolized servitude or submission. Jesus is admonishing us to submit ourselves to Him, for true rest comes from serving Him – not ourselves.

A new ox was often trained for plowing or drawing a cart by yoking him with an experienced ox. The yoke kept the young ox from “doing his own thing” and he soon learned obedience to his master. In like manner, we are to commit ourselves to being yoked to Jesus. “It is not in man that walketh to direct his steps” (Jer. 10:23). Therefore, we have to “bear the yoke in our youth” (Lam. 3:27) if we want to become mature Christians. The comparison ends at this point, though. Unlike the, sometimes, harsh treatment oxen are given to bring them into subjection, Jesus is “meek and lowly in heart,” and wins us by love. Jesus pulls more than His “share” of the load; therefore, our burden is light.

The most loving father in the world cannot compare with the love our Heavenly Father has for us. And yet, many times we find it easier to believe in the willingness of a father or mother or mate to help us than in the willingness of God to use His power on our behalf. Relatively few people really doubt God’s ability, but rather, it is our doubt of His willingness to use His ability on our behalf that causes most people to do without. Jesus assures us that God’s love, and His willingness to demonstrate that love, is far greater than we can ever experience in any human relationship. Not only does He want our love, but wants you to let Him love you today.