Recently, we have been discussing the word of God. We’ve discussed the truth and magnitude of the word, along with the roles that the word can take in our lives. But there is one function of the word that’s very important. 

Seedtime and Harvest is a popular topic on our site. It’s one of the most important topics that we can understand and grasp. When we begin to fully understand how powerful planting a seed is, we’ll start to see a new harvest, one that we desire. 

The greatest seed that one can plant isn’t in the ground, though. It isn’t in someone else’s life. It isn’t even in regards to our own finances. Planting the right seeds in these areas is important, but it all results in nothing compared to the seed in question. 

The best seed that we could possibly plant, is the word of God. And the planted word of God best resides in the hearts of the Christian. 

The Parable of the Sower

“And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears, let him hear.”” (Matthew‬ ‭13‬:‭4‬-9)

In this parable, we find a shower that has planted seed in the ground. Some seed fell on the rocky soil, not producing long term fruit. Some seed were planted in thorns. They died. And others fell on the good soil. These produced much good grain. But it was only those that had been planted amongst good soil that sprouted. 

The parable ends, with Jesus saying, “he who has ears, let him hear”. 

The Parable Explained 

Jesus then explains the parable. He explains that the word is indeed the seed of the parable. 

In the case of the seed in rocky soil, the word has not been planted deep enough in one’s heart. The seed planted amongst the thorns, is the word being choked out by the fleshly desires of the world. 

Of the seed planted in good soil, Jesus says this, 

“”As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.””(Matthew‬ ‭13‬:‭23‬)

In this context, Jesus uses the parable to express that the word of God can act as a seed, that when planted in good soil, can produce a mighty harvest. 

However, if it isn’t planted in good soil, it can cause issues and will result in very limited spiritual growth. 

Planting the Word

The most effective role of the Word that I’ve seen in my life is through its role as a seed. I’ve seen much spiritual growth simply by planting the word of God deep in my heart. 

As I’ve been allowing the word to dwell deep in my heart and change me from the inside out, I’ve noticed two things. 

• Your heart must be good soil

• The word must be planted

From the parable, we can see that both of those requirements must be met for the word of God to change us from the inside out. 

With the word of God planted in your heart, you will change into more into the image of Christ. But for that to happen, we must plant the Word into the good soil of our hearts. 

The Soil of Your Heart

The first step in planting the word in your heart, is to examine yourself and your heart. 

We need to have hearts that, as the parable says, can hear the Word and understand it. Our hearts need to be able to understand the Word for what it is, in order for it to have any affect on our outer or inner self. 

That may seem like a mind issue, like we need to figure it out using our head and understand it using logic. But as we talked about in the first of this series, the word is living and it is truth. That means that it doesn’t always affect our mind, like it affects our heart. This also means, that we won’t fully understand it using our mind and using logic. We understand it fully, but using our heart. 

The first step then, is making sure that your heart is open to the Lord and his word. You have to examine yourself, and examine your heart. Are you open to the Lord and his word? 

When one is open to the Lord and their heart is ready for the word and its power, roots can be bore, and the word of God is able to bear fruit in our lives. 

Sowing the Seed

The heart is the first thing that we must come to. We must have a heart that not only is open to the Lord and ready, but is able to understand it. 

Once you’ve examined yourself, and you’ve seen that you are ready to plant the word of God into your heart, the rest is easy. 

I’m no farmer. But from the outside looking in, it seems that everything leading up to the planting, is the hard part of farming. Finding good soil, tilling the ground, making sure it has sufficient water and sunlight. The preparation, is where the hard manual labor is. It’s also the most critical part. 

But once a seed is planted, you simply need to go through the motions of keeping the plant alive, well, and growing. The planting and sowing of the word is very similar. 

Opening up your heart to the Lord can be a difficult process at times. It involves being vulnerable and stepping out into faith. It takes boldness to step into the unknown and believe the word. 

But once you have the prep work done, you can go through the very fun process of reading and studying the word. It may not seem like a blast at first, but beginning to understand the Lord and his word opens up new thoughts, new wonders, new questions. It fascinates and transforms. 

The planting of the word is simple. Read the word and mediate on it. Allow it into the deepest of your thoughts and keep it on your mind. 

Those that do this, with an open heart of good soil, will see themselves changed from the inside out. 

Bearing Fruit

There are three stages to any seed.  

• The preparation

• The planting 

• The bearing

We’ve seen that the preparation work includes examining your heart and opening it up to the Lord. It involves allowing the Lord into your heart, and his word into the good soil. 

The planting is very simple. All that you need to do to plant the word into your heart, is to read it, and meditate on the scriptures. 

The bearing process comes when what was planted, starts to bear fruit. In regards to the word, it is when the Bible starts to transform you from the inside out. You’re no longer trying to change yourself and your bad habits or sin. You become changed by the word thats been planted. How awesome is that! 

Final Thoughts

The word has a lot of power and can play a lot of roles in our life. From our guide, to a seed that can be planted in our hearts. 

Oftentimes, we try and change our sin, hoping that our hearts will change after. But in reality, we need to open our heart, and allow the word to change us from the inside out, rather than the outside in. 

If you want more on this topic, there is a book by Andrew Wommack called Effortless Change. In this book, Andrew talks of the word becoming a seed, and creating “effortless change” in our lives. Check it out! 

Lastly, if you missed any of our lessons on the word of God, check them out here and here!

Have a great week!!