Four P’s of The Seed

Now the parable is this: The seed

is the word of God. Luke 8:11

The parable of the sower is perhaps the hallmark of all parables Jesus ever communicated. In fact, as recorded in the Gospel of Mark, Jesus has this to say about this parable in particular:

And he said unto them, Know ye not this parable? and how then will ye know all parables? Mark 4:13

In other words what Jesus is saying is if you are to “get it right” concerning my word and the way into the kingdom of God, this is the one you might want to get down and master.

Why? Because it pertains to the most important aspect of one’s walk of faith – the word of God.

“Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God“.

Let’s dive a little deeper into this.

Protection – (The Unprotected Heart)

A sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the way side; and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it.

Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. Luke 8:5, 12

The seed was devoured and snatched away. Why? Because the seed was left unprotected. Unprotected because it was not committed to heart and mind.

Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. Psalms 119:11

The word ‘hid’ in this verse is the Hebrew word ‘tsâphan‘. The word is translated into English to mean ‘to hoard, reserve or to protect‘.

Something is stolen because the thief was undetected and the goods were unprotected. The word of God must be PROTECTED in our hearts.

Penetration – (The Uncommitted Heart)

And some fell upon a rock; and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away, because it lacked moisture.

They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away.
Luke 8:6, 13

The seed failed because it never developed a root system: “these have no root”. The heart in this case was indifferent and uncommitted to the nurturing and care of the word of God.

Commitment is a hard phase to conquer in this journey. It takes a toll. It will be discomforting. It will demand something from us. It takes much effort to till and nurture the soil (heart) to accommodate conditions for seed growth.

Jesus said the other calamity befalling this seed was that it “lacked moisture“.

Roots have an inherent quality to seek out water sources. The root system failed to developed because it never reached an adequate water source (God’s spirit).

Roots will burrow through underground terra-cotta pipes and concrete to reach a source of light or water.

As the song of old sings:

I shall not be, I shall not be moved.

Just like a tree that is planted by the waters,

I shall not be moved.

We must allow our spiritual root system to be constantly refreshed by fresh influxes of God’s cool springs of living water. How? Through prayer, fasting , study of the word of God and worship.

And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

Those that be planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God. Psalms 1:3, 93:13

Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is.

For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit. Jeremiah 17:7-8

Perfection – (The Undisciplined Heart)

And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprang up with it, and choked it.

And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection. Luke 8:7, 14

Luke’s use of the word perfection (telesphoreō) is a compound of two Greek words –

telos and pherō̄.

Telos is translated to mean: ‘ the conclusion of an act or state, termination’.

Pherō̄ translated into English means: ‘to bear, carry or bring’.

Thus, the word perfection essentially means to bring or carry something to an act or state of conclusion – maturity.

Unripened fruit is of little value and certainly not desirable to eat. It is only when fruit is ripe that its true identity and distinctive nature (sweetness) is revealed.

Ripening is the final stage of fruit development. It is a lack of discipline at this stage that causes the seed to wither and die. Life, problems, sin, perplexities of the mind and worldly cares all get in the way and snuff out any hope for the tender, vulnerable little seed to reach perfection.

O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.

Psalms 34:8

The seed must be allowed to mature and ripen in our lives and to really “taste” the sweetness and goodness in living for God.

Discipline will bring the seed to full maturity, to a place of perfection where it becomes apparent that living for God is not a bitter taste of ‘drudgery‘, but a sweet one of ‘discovery‘.

Patience – (The Uncompromising Heart)

And other fell on good ground, and sprang up, and bare fruit an hundredfold. And when he had said these things, he cried, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience. Luke 8:8,15

The word of God has much to say on the subject of patience. Here are some “good” ones:

In your patience possess ye your souls. Luke 21:19

But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. James 1:4

Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. James 5:7

Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God (word/seed) and the faith of Jesus. Revelation 14:12

It’s one thing to start a great work for God. It is entirely another thing to sustain it and see it come to fruition. Mature fruit produces satisfaction in the one partaking it.

And it yields a seed or seeds for future growth and further production.

The mature fruit is able to reproduced itself and sustains the perpetuation of more growth (more seeds, more fruit, more growth).

In conclusion, Jesus illustrates in this parable the possible dimensions a human heart can experience as it reacts to the word of God (seed).

Note that in each ground type illustrated (the way side, shallow, thorns and good) the seed progressively increases both in depth and maturity. Ultimately, it is the condition of the soil (heart) that governs the seed’s ability to bear fruit.

Four P’s of the Seed – Protection (Unprotected Heart), Penetration (Uncommitted Heart), Perfection (Undisciplined Heart) and Patience (Uncompromising Heart).

“Jesus, help us to keep our hearts tender to the presence of your spirit so that we will allow your word to come to the place of perfection and maturity in our lives. Amen.”

2 thoughts on “Four P’s of The Seed”

Fashionable Librarian says:

March 12, 2016 at 10:19 am

I say amen to that prayer at the end as well. The Word is so important for us to grow, yet so many do not take the time to study what it has to say

LikeLike

1. dtoft says:
  
  March 12, 2016 at 3:39 pm
  
  Thank you for the comment & for taking the time to read the post. Blessings – David
  
  LikeLiked by 1 person

Messes To Masterpieces

And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. Genesis 1:2