The Idaho Springs siftings-news., 1918-02-15
LESSON FOR FEBRUARY II
JESUS TEACHING FIVE PARALLELS
-FOUR KINDS OF GROUND.

Jesus tells US plainly why he taught
SO much by means of parallels { Matt.
ID :10-13). The truth had to be taught;
hence the parable, that those to whom
1t was given to know the messages Of
the kingdom, those who sought 1t,
might know and understand, and that
to the others 1t might be hidden mark
4:11, 12). Like all his parallels, Jesus
draws his pictures from the common
experiences Of life-the field, the home,
etc. Paul draws his illustrations chief
~ from the city. the army. the market.
In studying this lesson we must turn
to the parallel account as given by
Luke and Matthew to get the full and
complete picture.
What is the seed7 Luke says that
Jesus told his disciples that the seed
was the Word of God duke 18:1D.
We get the same thought in verse four
teen Of the lesson. A great deal Is be-
Ing made today of seed selection. Some
wonderful results have been obtained.
How much more important for those of
us who deal with immortal souls that
we select the best seed, /. e., the Word
Of God.
The second consideration Is the
sower ". ~. Notice he went forth not
to "soar," not is it recorded that he
was "sore" because the people did not
all receive the seed alike. He did not
have a crouch; he did not enter into
his work that he might receive the
adulation of men (Matt. 6:2). 1t is,
hn IN
most emphasized in both the direct
teaching and also the explanation of
the parable. There are four kinds of
soil. The manner by which the seed
came into contact with each kind of
soil is significant. Some fell "by" the
wayside; the path was well trodden;
the ground was preoccupied; e. G., 1t
was used for other purposes than to
yield a harvest; it was hard to be
broken, and hence 1t was an easy mat
ter for the birds of the air ". 15) to
come and pluck 1t away. We need to
remember that II men receive with
meekness the implanted word. there
will, of course, be no such opportunity
for the evil one. The trouble in this
case was that the Word was not i'm
planted. Thus 1t Is that one-fourth Of
the seed Is lost. The result Is deplor-
able one as we see from Heb. 2:1-4.
Is the soil Of our life so hard that God
must drive the plowshare clean
through 1t ere there Is a chance for the
seed to take root? FPS. 129 ~.
The next fell ION" the rocky ground.
The first is a picture of the hardened.
and this Is picture Of the superficial
hearer. For time they did run well.
They even received the Word with
gladness ". 16), but they had no sta
bility because they had no root. They
were superficial. There was no chance
for the seed to get real grip on their
lives. The earth yields its. increase
though we do not understand. So God
will add his 95 per cent to our 8 per
cent. The oak tree comes from small
seed.
In the third place Jesus speaks Of
the seed that fell "among" the thorns.
Here is the worldly soil. 1t Is not SO
much the character Of the soil, 1t Is
the character Of that which already &C.
cupied the soil ere the sower sowed
the seed. The cares of this world, the
deceitfulness Of riches and "other
things" had so entered in that the
good seed never had a chance in the
soil Of the human heart. 1t was choked
and yielded no fruit. There was no
real grip of the will, no whole-hearted
surrender. The cares Of life that keep
the housewife or the business man !;
the deceitfulness Of riches that snare
men and choke the word which at one
time gave such promise in their lives
the lusts and other things which the
evil one knows so well how to use keep
US from the Word, for Satan knows
that by 1t we are to be saved duke
1912. Are we impulsive? Do we
make VOWS soon forgotten, ties that
soon fade away or fall beneath the
temptations for lack of root7 May
God blast and turn up the subsoil of
our hearts by strong convictions Of sin.
and SO occupy the soil that there Is no
opportunity for other things.
We have thus seen three-f ourths Of
the seed lost. OF the remaining
fourth. that which fell "into" (R. w
he good soil, not all yielded the same
return. 1t all brought forth ". y; 1t
all yielded: 1t all sprang up, but not all
in the same ratio.
There are three distinguishing fea-
lures Of this last kind Of hearers: ~
They hear the Word. These are the
ones who appreciate Its value and give
good heed to its precepts. (2) They &C.
eept 1t e. &. they understand its teach
ings. They take 1t into good and hon.
est hearts. (3) They hold it fast
luke 8:15 r. w These are the
ones of which martyrs are made.
Jesus was a great open-air preacher
wv. p and like all others he has
various kinds Of hearers the half