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1
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- A farmer was sowing grain in his fields.
- As he scattered the seed across the ground,
some fell beside a path, and the birds came and ate it.
And some fell on rocky soil where there was little depth
of earth; the plants sprang up quickly enough in the shallow
soil, but the hot sun soon scorched them and they withered and died, for
they had so little root.
- Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns choked out the tender
blades.
- But some fell on good soil, and produced a crop that was thirty, sixty,
and even a hundred times as much as he had planted. “If you have
ears, listen!'‘
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2
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- for it is God who works in you both
to will and to do for His good pleasure.
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3
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- “Break up your fallow ground,
and do not sow among thorns.”
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4
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5
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- The hard path where some of the seeds fell represents the heart of a
person who hears the Good News about the Kingdom and doesn't understand
it;
then Satan comes and snatches away the seeds from his heart.
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6
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- The shallow, rocky soil represents the heart of a man who hears the
message and receives it with real joy, but he doesn't have much depth in
his life, and the seeds don't root very deeply,
- and after a while when trouble comes, or persecution begins because of
his beliefs, his enthusiasm fades,
and he drops out.
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7
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- Let your roots grow down into
him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong
in the truth you were taught,
and you will overflow with thankfulness.
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8
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- The ground covered with thistles represents a man who hears the message,
but the cares of this life and his longing for money
choke out God's Word,
and he does less… and less… for God.
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9
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- The good ground represents the heart of a man who listens to the message
and understands it
and goes out
and brings thirty, sixty,
or even a hundred others into the Kingdom.'‘
- That’s Fulfillment!!
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10
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- What we see of
a plant…
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is only half the picture
- The hidden parts determine…
what the visible parts
will produce.
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11
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- But the LORD said to Samuel,
"Do not consider his appearance or his height, for he is not
my choice. The LORD does not look at the
things man looks at. Man looks at
the outward appearance,
but the LORD looks at the heart.“
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12
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- If you’re like most of us,
- We have a few stones
- Our PH balance is off…
- maybe a little too
acidic.
or maybe too
base
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13
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- He’s in the soil conservation
and conditioning business
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14
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- I will put a new spirit within you;
and I will take the stony heart
out of their flesh,
and will give them an heart of flesh:
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15
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- 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,
and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and
intents of the heart.
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16
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- The Lord is saying to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, Plow up the
hardness of your hearts; otherwise the good seed will be wasted among
the thorns.
- Cleanse your minds and hearts, not just your bodies, or else my anger
will burn you to a crisp because of all your sins.
And no one will be able to put the fire out.
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17
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- O God, thou art my God;
early will I seek thee:
my soul thirsts for thee,
my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no
water is;
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18
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- Do Not be stiff necked, as your
fathers were, but yield yourselves to the Lord, and enter into his
sanctuary, which he has sanctified for ever: and serve the Lord your
God, that the fierceness of his wrath may turn away from you.
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19
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- Jesus said to them, You have read this in the Scriptures: “The stone that the builders did not
want will become the cornerstone.
The Lord makes this happen.
It is a wonderful thing for us to see.”
- This is why I am telling you that the kingdom of God will be taken away
from you and given to a people who will make it produce fruit.
Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken. If that stone
falls on you, it will crush you!''
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20
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- The LORD looks down from heaven
on the sons of men to see if there are
any who understand, any who seek God.
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21
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- Seek the Lord while you can find him.
Call upon him now while he is near.
Let men cast off their wicked deeds; let them banish from their
minds the very thought of doing wrong!
Let them turn to the Lord that he may have mercy upon them, and
to our God, for he will abundantly pardon!
- This plan of mine is not what you would work out, neither are my
thoughts the same as yours!
- For just as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than yours,
and my thoughts than yours.
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22
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- As the rain and snow come down from heaven and stay upon the ground to
water the earth, and cause the grain to grow and to produce seed for the
farmer and bread for the hungry,
- so also is my Word.
I send it out
and it always produces fruit.
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23
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- It shall accomplish all I want it to,
and prosper everywhere I send it.
You will live in joy and peace.
The mountains and hills, the trees of the field
all the world around you will rejoice.
Where once were thorns, fir trees will grow; where briars grew,
the myrtle trees will sprout up.
- This miracle will make the Lord's name very great and be an everlasting
sign of God's power and love.
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24
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Notes
