Good Soil

Behold, A Sower Went Forth to Sow

And when a great crowd was gathering and people from town after town came to Him, He said in a parable,"A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell along the path was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the air devoured it. And some fell on the rock, and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it. And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded a hundredfold." As He said these things, He called out, "He who has ears to hear, let Him hear." Luke 8:4-8

Our Thai Airways flight from Phnom Penh landed in Bangkok Suvarnabhumi International Airport at 11 p.m. but our flight to Manila was not until 7 a.m. the following day. David, Tina, and I looked for lounging chairs where we could comfortably spend the night, but we didn't find any. Finally, after hours of trying to get some sleep, David found the Thai Airways lounging area, but by then, it was only two hours before our flight!

We arrived in Manila shortly before noon. I was really happy to find my daughter Obedient One working from home that day. After a late lunch, I was able to get some much needed rest. 

I was also grateful for some down time in our Manila home before returning to Bacolod City. The "in-between" time in the middle of two destinations afforded me much opportunity to catch up on my Bible reading, and spending huge chunks of unhurried time with the Lord.

I was scheduled to return to Bacolod on Sunday evening, so Obedient One and I were still able to go to church that morning. The Sunday message at Victory Katipunan given by Pastor Sky Ramos on the parable of the sower was a much needed reminder for me.

Although I have read this parable many times before, it touched my heart in a fresh, new way that morning.

I drank in as much as I could of what the Spirit was saying. And I was just so refreshed.

This parable is actually a breakthrough parable because Jesus explains its meaning for His disciples word for word. There is just no way that we could miss out on what it means.

The story is about the kingdom of God operating in the hearts of people. 

Just how important is the Word of God to you and me?

Father God is constantly sowing seed, speaking words of life, but the crucial question is, Is anybody listening?

Abba Father is constantly speaking, sowing His word, seeking to build up our faith.

There are really only two kinds of response to God's word: to obey or not to obey.

A response of obedience strengthens our faith, and softens the ground of our hearts.

A response of disobedience weakens our faith, and hardens the ground of our hearts.

Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

God's word is living and active, sharper than a double edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12)

How awesome is that?

A daily intake of God's word helps me divide between a soulish and a spiritual response, and helps bring to light the thoughts and intentions of our hearts.

Again, how marvelous is that?

Just how important is God's word to us?

The spoken word of God has tremendous value. Joshua, as he was preparing to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land, heard God speak these words to Him:

This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. - Joshua 1:8

This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth.

It really is not enough to read God's word. It has to be regularly spoken. We are to meditate on it day and night, until its creative, life giving juices become a part of our body, soul, and spirit.

How much of the word do we devour, ingest, digest, meditate on... day after day? How much of God's word gets chewed on, and becomes our daily nourishment?

Do we create space for God to sow the seeds of His word in our hearts?

A parallel passage of this parable, says that other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. (Matthew 13:8)

If God can give us a hundredfold return on one seed sown on good ground, why will I settle for a mere thirtyfold return?

What determines the amount of yield that one single seed produces?

I believe it is the willingness to make God's word an integral part of our daily lives.

I want my heart to be a fertile ground for God's word to grow in. I want my heart to be a hearing heart that joyfully receives the word of God and responds in obedience to it.

After lunch I said goodbye to Obedient One, so grateful for the five days that I was able to spend with her.

And I returned to Bacolod City with my heart full of fresh truth from God's word.

Four days after I arrived in Bacolod, it was time to board another flight for another ministry assignment. David, Tata and I went back to Cagayan de Oro City to conduct an Ancient Paths seminar again.

It really was such a blessed time of ministering God's truth to the 21 people who attended the seminar and received ministry in the small groups after each teaching session.

On Sunday, the day we were to return to Bacolod, all flights were cancelled due to a tropical cyclone. Our flights were rebooked for the following day.

Because of this cancellation, we were able to attend the worship service at the First Assembly of God church, the church to which our hosts belong.

I believe that it was a divine appointment for us to be in church that morning. Towards the end of the service, a young man named Lloyd spoke a word of exhortation to the congregation. as I listened to him speak, there was a deep stirring in my spirit. His passion for God's kingdom was evident in his voice, on his face, and in the words he spoke.

Then he looked straight at me and gave a brief testimony of how he came to know the Lord. It was eleven years ago when I attended my first Ancient Paths seminar, he said. I will never forget the date, it was in September 2005 that I came to know the Lord Jesus Christ through that seminar, and I gave my life over to Him, and I received Him into my heart as my Lord and Savior.

I couldn't hold back the tears. Lloyd was teary eyed as well.

This young man is now the assistant pastor in this church.

His life is the very example of a hearing heart, a heart with fertile soil, on which the word of God was sown eleven years ago... and I have no doubt that over a hundredfold of fruit has already been produced in his life.

I was humbled... and really wanted to remain silent for the remainder of the day.

What an awesome privilege I have been given, to receive encouragement that no work we do for the kingdom is ever in vain.

God is always speaking, God is always sowing, looking for fertile hearts on which the seed of His word will be planted, and bear fruit, a hundredfold.

Yes, it is indeed a privilege that has refreshed my heart anew.

a photo after the worship service with Lloyd

We arrived back in Bacolod City four days ago. Today, in just a few hours, David, Tata and I will once again board our flight to another country.

Once again, we have said "yes" to a kingdom assignment.

What an honor, what a privilege to be ambassadors of peace, life, and healing, for the King of Kings, and the Lord of Lords.

I realize that this is what is required of me in this season. I no longer consider it a ministry, I think of it as my life.

Speak Lord, for Your daughter is listening.