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The Good Ground: When the Plow Prepares the Heart for Fruit (Matthew 13) · (Un) Common thoughts of Christ

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome back to our series He That Hath Ears to Hear.
• 0:04
  SPEAKER_00: We have been walking through the parable of the sower in Matthew 13 and Mark four.
• 0:10
  SPEAKER_00: At the beginning of this series we saw why the Lord began speaking in parables.
• 0:16
  SPEAKER_00: The king had been rejected.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_00: Israel had heard his words, seen his works, and yet refused him.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_00: So the Lord does not yet establish the kingdom in visible power.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_00: Instead, he goes forth as the sour.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_00: He sows the word of the kingdom into hearts.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_00: And the issue in this parable is not the seed.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_00: The seed is perfect, the word is living and powerful.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_00: The issue is the soil.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_00: What kind of heart receives the word?
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_00: We have seen the wayside soil, where the hardened heart never lets the word enter.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_00: We have seen the stony ground, where the word is received with joy, but there is no root.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_00: We have seen the thorny ground, where other things crowd out the word until it becomes unfruitful.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_00: Now we come to the good ground.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_00: The Lord says in the eighth verse of Matthew thirteen, but other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_00: Then he explains later, in verse twenty three, but he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it, which also beareth fruit.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_00: Mark says in the fourth chapter, verse twenty, and these are they which are sown on good ground, such as hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_00: And Luke adds in his gospel in the eighth chapter, verse fifteen, 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.
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_00: Those three accounts together give us a full picture.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_00: Matthew says, the good ground hearer hears and understands.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_00: Mark says, He hears and receives.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_00: Luke says he hears, keeps the word, and brings forth fruit with patience.
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_00: Understanding, receiving, keeping, fruit with patience.
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_00: That is good ground, but we must ask carefully, what makes the ground good?
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_00: It does not mean that some hearts are naturally good.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_00: Scripture does not teach that.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_00: In Jeremiah 17 9 we read, The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_00: Who can know it?
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_00: And in Romans 3.23, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_00: So good ground does not mean naturally good soil, it means prepared soil, soil that has been worked upon, soil where God has done a deep work.
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  SPEAKER_00: Soil where the word does not merely lie on the surface, spring up emotionally, or compete with thorns.
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  SPEAKER_00: It enters, it takes root, it bears fruit.
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_00: And here we come to the thought of the plough.
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_00: The good ground has been broken up.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_00: The plough has cut through the soil.
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_00: That is not a comfortable picture at first.
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_00: The plough disturbs the surface, it cuts into what was settled, it turns over what was hidden, it breaks up what was hard, it exposes roots, stones, and buried things, but without the plough, the seed cannot enter deeply.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_00: That is a serious picture of the work of God in the heart.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes we want the seed without the plough.
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_00: We want comfort without conviction.
• 4:09
  SPEAKER_00: We want joy without repentance.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_00: We want fruit without being broken up before God.
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  SPEAKER_00: But the soil of the heart must be prepared.
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_00: The word must not merely touch the surface of my life, it must enter the deep furrows of my soul.
• 4:26
  SPEAKER_00: That is why Hosea says in chapter 10, verse 12, Break up your fallow ground, for it is time to seek the Lord.
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_00: Fallow ground is ground that may have potential, but it is not presently fruitful.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_00: It needs to be broken up.
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_00: And that is often how God works with us.
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_00: He uses his word, he uses conscience, he uses circumstances, he uses sorrow, he uses correction, he uses disappointment, he uses the exposure of our own motives, he uses the quiet searching of his presence, and the plough cuts through the soil of the heart, not to destroy us, but to prepare us.
• 5:13
  SPEAKER_00: The plough is mercy.
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_00: It may hurt, but it is mercy, because God is making room for his word.
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_00: The field only sees what is being disturbed.
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_00: The farmer sees what is being prepared.
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_00: The field only feels the blade of the plough.
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  SPEAKER_00: The farmer already sees waving grain.
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_00: The field feels today's disturbance.
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_00: The farmer is working for tomorrow's harvest.
• 5:42
  SPEAKER_00: He knows that hard ground must be broken.
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  SPEAKER_00: He knows that hidden stones must be exposed.
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_00: He knows that weeds must be uprooted.
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_00: He knows that the soil must be opened if the seed is going to enter.
• 5:56
  SPEAKER_00: The plough is not against the field.
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  SPEAKER_00: It is for the field.
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  SPEAKER_00: It is not destruction, it is preparation.
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  SPEAKER_00: The farmer is working today because he sees a harvest tomorrow.
• 6:09
  SPEAKER_00: And God often ploughs our hearts in the same way.
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  SPEAKER_00: We feel the disturbance.
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  SPEAKER_00: He already sees the fruit.
• 6:17
  SPEAKER_00: We feel the cutting.
• 6:19
  SPEAKER_00: He sees the prepared soil.
• 6:22
  SPEAKER_00: We feel the exposure, he sees the word entering deeply.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_00: The plough is mercy, because God loves us too much to leave us hard, shallow, or crowded with thorns.
• 6:35
  SPEAKER_00: He breaks up the soil so that his word may enter deeply and bear fruit for his pleasure.
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_00: Hebrews says in the fourth chapter and verse twelve, for the word of God is quick and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit.
• 6:59
  SPEAKER_00: That is a very searching expression.
• 7:02
  SPEAKER_00: The word of God divides between soul and spirit.
• 7:06
  SPEAKER_00: The soul is connected with our natural thoughts, feelings, preferences, and reactions.
• 7:13
  SPEAKER_00: The spirit is that part of man which has God consciousness and stands before him.
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  SPEAKER_00: Often the two become mixed.
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  SPEAKER_00: We may mistake personal preference for spiritual discernment, natural feeling for divine guidance, or self-interest for faithfulness.
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  SPEAKER_00: The Word of God separates what is merely of ourselves from what is truly of God.
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  SPEAKER_00: It exposes what is mixed within and brings the heart into the light of His presence.
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  SPEAKER_00: That is part of the plough.
• 7:49
  SPEAKER_00: God is not merely correcting behavior.
• 7:53
  SPEAKER_00: He is preparing the soil so that his word may enter deeply and bear fruit, so the seed can enter.
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_00: We live in a day that often wants the blessings of God's word without allowing God's word to search the heart.
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  SPEAKER_00: We want encouragement without conviction, growth without repentance, and fruit without the plough.
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_00: But God's way has never changed.
• 8:20
  SPEAKER_00: The Lord is not looking merely for religious activity, he is looking for fruit, and fruit begins with a heart prepared before God.
• 8:31
  SPEAKER_00: James says in chapter one and verse twenty one Receive with meekness the engrafted word which is able to save your souls.
• 8:43
  SPEAKER_00: Receive with meekness, not with resistance, not with self defense, not with argument, with meekness.
• 8:52
  SPEAKER_00: The good ground hearer does not sit over the word as judge.
• 8:57
  SPEAKER_00: He sits under the word as one judged by it.
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  SPEAKER_00: He lets the word search him.
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  SPEAKER_00: He lets the word correct him.
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  SPEAKER_00: He lets the word expose him.
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  SPEAKER_00: He lets the word form Christ in him.
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  SPEAKER_00: And this is why fruit is different from mere impression.
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  SPEAKER_00: The soil of the wayside heard, the stony ground responded.
• 9:20
  SPEAKER_00: The thorny ground allowed growth of another kind, but only the good ground brought forth fruit.
• 9:27
  SPEAKER_00: Fruit is what God receives from the life.
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  SPEAKER_00: Fruit is not measured merely by knowledge, activity, visibility, or religious profession.
• 9:38
  SPEAKER_00: Fruit is Christ formed in the soul, and expressed in the life.
• 9:45
  SPEAKER_00: The Lord Jesus says in John fifteen five, He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit.
• 9:57
  SPEAKER_00: And then in the eighth verse, herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit.
• 10:05
  SPEAKER_00: Fruit is for the Father's glory.
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_00: It is the life of Christ becoming visible through a prepared heart.
• 10:13
  SPEAKER_00: This is a needed word today.
• 10:15
  SPEAKER_00: It is easy to mistake activity for fruitfulness.
• 10:19
  SPEAKER_00: A person may be busy, knowledgeable, even admired by others, and yet bear little fruit for God.
• 10:27
  SPEAKER_00: The Lord measures differently.
• 10:29
  SPEAKER_00: He is looking for Christ formed in us, love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance, that is fruit, and much of it grows quietly, hiddenly, slowly, in the soil of a heart that has been broken up before God.
• 10:53
  SPEAKER_00: Now the Lord says in Matthew thirteen, eight, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.
• 11:02
  SPEAKER_00: But an interesting that in Mark the order is different.
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  SPEAKER_00: Some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred.
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  SPEAKER_00: This is not a contradiction.
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  SPEAKER_00: It is divine wisdom.
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  SPEAKER_00: Matthew presents the fruit as hundred, sixty, thirty.
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  SPEAKER_00: It is as though the king's claim is presented first in its fullest measure.
• 11:26
  SPEAKER_00: The word deserves full fruit, even though there are differing measures among believers.
• 11:32
  SPEAKER_00: In Mark, the emphasis appears to be growth.
• 11:36
  SPEAKER_00: Fruit may increase as the word continues its work in the life.
• 11:41
  SPEAKER_00: Matthew emphasizes responsibility before the king.
• 11:46
  SPEAKER_00: Mark encourages growth in the servant path.
• 11:49
  SPEAKER_00: Luke adds another word in his account patience.
• 11:54
  SPEAKER_00: Luke says, Bring forth fruit with patience.
• 11:59
  SPEAKER_00: Fruit develops over time.
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  SPEAKER_00: It does not ripen instantly.
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  SPEAKER_00: Good ground does not mean instant maturity.
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  SPEAKER_00: It means the word has entered a heart where it can live, grow, and produce.
• 12:13
  SPEAKER_00: This is very important for our day.
• 12:16
  SPEAKER_00: Everything pushes for immediacy, immediate results, immediate visibility, immediate response, immediate proof.
• 12:25
  SPEAKER_00: But fruit in God's ways often grows slowly.
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  SPEAKER_00: Roots are hidden before fruit is visible.
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  SPEAKER_00: The plough comes before the seed settles.
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  SPEAKER_00: The seed enters before the plant appears.
• 12:40
  SPEAKER_00: The plant grows before the fruit ripens.
• 12:44
  SPEAKER_00: And Luke says, It comes with patience.
• 12:48
  SPEAKER_00: So we should not mistake slowness for failure, but neither should we mistake activity for fruit.
• 12:54
  SPEAKER_00: God is looking for fruit that comes from his word in a prepared heart.
• 13:00
  SPEAKER_00: Mary of Bethany gives us a beautiful picture of good ground.
• 13:06
  SPEAKER_00: Luke ten thirty nine.
• 13:09
  SPEAKER_00: Mary sat at Jesus' feet and heard his word.
• 13:14
  SPEAKER_00: She received the word before she served.
• 13:17
  SPEAKER_00: She listened before she acted.
• 13:20
  SPEAKER_00: Later, in John twelve, her devotion to Christ became visible fruit.
• 13:26
  SPEAKER_00: Fruit grows where the word has first been given a place in the heart.
• 13:32
  SPEAKER_00: And this brings us back to the plough.
• 13:35
  SPEAKER_00: If I want fruit, I must not resist the plough.
• 13:39
  SPEAKER_00: If God's word exposes something hard, let it be broken.
• 13:43
  SPEAKER_00: If it uncovers something hidden, let it be judged.
• 13:47
  SPEAKER_00: If it reveals a thorn root, let it be pulled up.
• 13:51
  SPEAKER_00: If it separates soul and spirit, let that work be welcomed.
• 13:56
  SPEAKER_00: The plough is not against the harvest.
• 13:59
  SPEAKER_00: The plough prepares for the harvest.
• 14:02
  SPEAKER_00: The father is the husbandman.
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_00: The spirit prepares the heart, and the word brings forth fruit.
• 14:10
  SPEAKER_00: So what does this mean for us today?
• 14:13
  SPEAKER_00: It means that the great question is not merely have I heard the word?
• 14:19
  SPEAKER_00: All four soils heard.
• 14:21
  SPEAKER_00: The question is, as we close this podcast series, has the word entered?
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  SPEAKER_00: Has it been received with meekness?
• 14:29
  SPEAKER_00: Has it become part of my moral and spiritual life?
• 14:33
  SPEAKER_00: Is it producing fruit for God?
• 14:35
  SPEAKER_00: In a day of spiritual noise, quick content, public platforms, and shallow impressions, the Lord is still looking for fruit.
• 14:46
  SPEAKER_00: Not merely religious interest, not merely emotional response, not merely doctrinal discussion, fruit, fruit that glorifies the Father, fruit that displays Christ, fruit that remains when trial comes, fruit that grows with patience.
• 15:05
  SPEAKER_00: The king is still rejected.
• 15:07
  SPEAKER_00: The seed is still perfect.
• 15:10
  SPEAKER_00: The question has never changed.
• 15:13
  SPEAKER_00: Will I ask God merely for more seed?
• 15:16
  SPEAKER_00: Or will I trust the loving hand of the husbandman to plough my heart so his word can take root and bear fruit for his glory?