In Mark 4 the Lord taught a parable about a sower. He explained the parable to the disciples and to all "who had ears to hear." The explanation the Lord gave is something we could all profit from if we paid heed to it.
Proverbs 4:20-23 (Amplified) tells us, "My son, attend to My Words; consent and submit to My sayings. Let them not depart from your sight; keep them in the center of your heart (spirit) For they are life to those who find them, health and healing to all their flesh." Verse 23 says, "Keep and guard your heart (spirit) with all vigilance and above all that you guard, for out of it (your spirit) flow the springs (the forces) of life."
God's Word are life to those who find them. We know that by "finding" His Word, we were saved and given eternal life. John 6:63 (Amplified) says, "It is the Spirit Who gives life (He is the life giver); the flesh conveys no benefit whatever (there is no profit in it). The Words (truths) that I have been speaking to you are spirit and life."
God's Word doesn't only bring eternal life to our spirit, but it brings health and healing to our flesh. Proverbs 17:22 (Amplified) says, "A happy heart (spirit) is good medicine and a cheerful mind works healing, but a broken spirit dries up the bones."
Our spirit is the place God's Word is sown, bringing forth salvation, health and healing. Everything God does in our lives must begin in our spirit. Proverbs 20:27 (Amplified) says that, "The spirit of man (that factor in human personality which proceeds immediately from God) is the lamp of the Lord, searching all his innermost parts." We read in Proverbs 14:20 (Amplified) that, "A calm and undisturbed mined and heart (spirit) are the life and health of the body, but envy, jealousy and wrath are like rottenness of bones."
Now we can understand why the Lord instructs us to "guard our heart (spirit) with all vigilance, and above everything that we guard." God says in Proverbs 4:23 (Amplified) that, "Out of your spirit flows the forces, the issues, of life."
You cannot get something from your spirit that you don't put in it. Jesus tells the parable of the sower in Mark 4, saying the "Sower sows the Word." The Word is the seed of God sown into our spirit man. The soil Jesus speaks about is our spirit. You are spirit, the Word is Spirit and God is Spirit. God produces, reveals and deals with us in our spirits.
Jesus said that, "The life is in the spirit." Everything we desire or long for from the Father, originate from the Spirit. Even the earth came from His Word and His Spirit. Isaiah 45:18 (Amplified) says, "For thus says the Lord-Who created the heavens, God Himself, Who formed the earth and made it. Who established it and did not create it to be worthless waste; He formed it to be inhabited-I am the Lord, and there is No One Else."
These aren't simply words that we read and mentally ascend to, but these are "seeds" of life, strength and healing to our spirit and body. They are living seeds that will bring forth a harvest in our lives, but only if we sow them into the soil of our spirit. There is no garden that just grows by itself. Each one must be sown with purpose. Just because your neighbor has great tomato plants, doesn't mean that you will. You must plant tomatoes in your garden in order to have them.
2Timothy 2:6-7 (Amplified) says, "(It is) the hard working farmer (who labors to produce) who must be the first partaker of the fruits. Think over these things that I am saying (understand them and grasp their application), For the Lord will grant you full insight and understanding in everything."
Is Timothy speaking only about a harvest in the fields? Or is he speaking about the harvest of blessings in the kingdom that He will reveal all these things to us? I believe he's saying that the Word is seed to be sown in our hearts (spirits). And, as we labor to tend the garden, we will be the first to enjoy the fruits of our labor. God Himself will reveal to us how the whole Kingdom of God works.
Jesus spoke of His crucifixion and death, referring to Himself as a Seed that must be planted in order to reproduce and bring forth more sons into the Family of God. Thus, He says in John 12:24 (Amplified), "I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains (just one grain; it never becomes more, but lives) by itself alone. but if it dies, it produces many others and yields a rich harvest."
Jesus spoke in Mark 4:11 (Amplified) about the parable of the sower, saying, "To you has been entrusted the mystery of the Kingdom of God (that is, the secret councils of God which are hidden from the ungodly) but for those (outside our circle) everything becomes a parables." Jesus said that the whole Kingdom of God works on this "seed" principle.
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