The Dolores star., 1918-02-15
uR1svHD uWs1a MTElRATIeAAI
SUlllMSC|lON
LESSON
lBy e o. SELLERS, Acting Director of
the Sunday School Course Of the Moody
Bible Institute. Chicago.)
tcopyrishs 1919. Wsss.rn Nevspapee Un.ea.l
LESSON FOR FEBRUARY II
JESUS TEACHING FIVE pARABLGs
-FOUR KINDS OF GROUND.

eoAsDEN TEAT-TAke heed therefore
how ye hear.-Iuke s:i1
ADDITIONAL MATERIAL FOR
rEACHERSLNatt 1s:1-S0; N-N
PRIMARY ToPIc-Jssus telling . story
PRIMARY MEMORY vERsE-Bs 70
aosrs OF the vord.-Jamss In
Jesus tells US plainly why he taught
SO much BY means Of parallels { Matt.
13 :101S). The truth had to be taught:
hence the parable, that those to whom
the kingdom. those who sought It.
might know and understand, and that
to the others It might be hidden (Mark
All. 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
ly 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 seedf Luke says that
Jesus told his disciples that the seed
was the Word Of God (Luke S:11).
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. l. e.. the Word
of God.
The second consideration IL the
sower ". ~. Notice he went forth not
to SOAR" not Is 1t 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. 8:2). It is,
however. the "soil" that seems to be
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 preoccupled; g. g.. 1t
was used for other purposes than to
yield q harvest; 1t was hard to be
broken. and hence It was an easy mat
ter for the birds Of the air ". 15) to
come and pluck It 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 Inn
planted. Thus It IL that one-fOurth Of
the seed Ii lost. The result II q deplor-
able one as we see from Heb. 2:14.
Is the soil Of our life 90 hard that God
must drive the plowshare clean
through 1t ere there IL chance for the
seed to take root1 Cps. 100 :3).
The next fell ION" the rocky ground.
The first is picture of the hardened.
and this il q picture of the superficial
hearer. For time they did run well.
They even received the Word with
gladness ". 1877, 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. It Ii not SO
much the character OF the soil, II IL
the character Of that which already oc-
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 ut 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 It we are to be saved Nuke
1922. Are we impulsive7 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 80 occupy the soil that there is no
opportunity for other things.
We have thus seen three-fourths of
the seed lost. OF the remaining
fourth, that which fell into" (R. w
he good soil, not all yielded the same
return. It all brought forth ". y; 1t
all yielded; 1t all sprang mp. but not all
in the same ratio.
There are three distinguishing fea-
lures Of this last kind Of hearers: IL
They hear the Word. These are the
ones who appreciate Its value and give
good heed to its precepts. (2) They ac-
eept 1t e. g. they understand Its teach
ings. They take It into good and HON
est hearts. (3) They hold It fast
(Luke S:15 B. W These are thS