What Kind of Ground Are You?

1. What Kind of Ground Are You? having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever, I Peter 1:23

2. What Kind of Ground Are You? • Most people expect God's Word to work like a stick of dynamite -- but God's Word is like a seed. • The Word of God takes time to grow in our hearts and impact our lives.

3. What Kind of Ground Are You? • Jesus said His words are alive. They contain life. The words in your Bible may look lifeless and powerless. Seeds do, too. But they are not without life or power. • "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. John 6:63 • Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implantedword, which is able to save your souls. James 1:21

4. What Kind of Ground Are You? • On What Type of Ground Is Your Seed (the Word of God) Growing or Planted In?

5. What Kind of Ground Are You? • Group # 1: You represent the “wayside” (hard ground) what would you need to do for your seed to grow? • Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. 12 Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. Luke 8:12

6. What Kind of Ground Are You? • Group # 2: You represent “rocky” ground. What will you need to do for your seed to grow? • 13 But the ones on the rockare those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away. Luke 8:13

7. What Kind of Ground Are You? • Group # 3: You represent “thorny” ground/among weeds. What would you need to do for your seed to grow and what scriptures may help you. • 14 Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity. Luke 8:14

8. What Kind of Ground Are You? • Group # 4-Children: You represent “good” ground. What would you need to do for your seed to grow and what scriptures will help you? • 15 But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience. Luke 8:15

9. What Kind of Ground Are You? Seed Planted by the Wayside (hard ground) • In the Natural: On hard ground/compacted clay soil, seeds unable to penetrate the ground and grow. • Solutions: Place good topsoil over the harden ground then plant the seeds. A couple of inches of mulch (chipped wood) sometimes softens the ground. Another solution is change the location where you want to plant.

10. What Kind of Ground Are You? Seed Planted by the Wayside (hard ground) • Spiritual: The first type of soil is the seed sown along the path (wayside). As the seeds are tossed on the ground, the dirt is so hard packed that the seeds are not able to penetrate the soil which means they lie on top and become bird food. • Satan has total access to steal the Word in this type of soil. It is dangerous to become hard-hearted and not strive for understanding the Word of God.

11. What Kind of Ground Are You? Planting Seed On Rocky Ground • In the Natural: When soil is made of impenetrable stone, plant roots have a tough time getting the nutrients they need to survive. Rocks don’t enhance the productivity of the soil much. Growing seed in rocky soil can be difficult. Rocky soil does not retain as much moisture as more fertile types of soil, and plant roots are often unable to penetrate the rock to collect water and food. • Solution:Remove the rocks from the soil or plant around the rocks. Preparing rocky soil for planting can take some time, but you will be rewarded with rich soil

12. What Kind of Ground Are You? Planting Seed On Rocky Ground • Spiritual: This is the person who receives the Word with gladness and gets excited but does not take the time to let roots develop.They never produce because there is no depth of soil to sustain this growth. Because of this they are very vulnerable, during times of testing they quickly fall away. • It is much easier to root out a seed than an established tree.

13. What Kind of Ground Are You? Planting on “thorny” Ground among weeds • In the Natural: One does not have to plant weeds or thistles. They just appear. Thorns and weeds are the first plants to emerge. The thorns send out their shoots sideways. Very soon they can cover a piece of ground. • Many weeds quickly become a frustrating, ongoing struggle if you don’t spot them early. Garden weeds can steal water, sunlight and soil nutrients from seeds and some even release toxic chemicals into the soil that inhibit the growth of other plants. Weeds compete with productive crops or pasture, ultimately converting productive land into unusable scrub.Solution: Manual removal with a hoe, a good garden fork or knife to cut out the root of the weed, use weed killers or burn them.

14. What Kind of Ground Are You? Planting on “thorny” Ground among weeds • Spiritual : This is the person who receives the Word; however the cares, worries, distractions and desires for other things are their main focus in life. • Like a garden with both plants and weeds, there are only enough nutrients to sustain either the plants or the weeds, not both. In other words, where you place your focus is where growth will happen in your life. • Modern day life is full of distractions. Busyness is a terrible enemy! We run from here to there filling up our lives with activities. Then when we are at home, it is easy to spend most of our time in front of a TV, computer, iPad or texting. By comparison, the time spent reading scripture or meditating on God’s word is minimal.

15. What Kind of Ground Are You? Planting in “good” ground. • In The Natural: Planting seed in good soil, takes work also. There is a lot of work involved in the planting and caring for a garden. • What are some of the things you will need to plant a garden? You'll need a shovel to break up the ground and a rake to remove the rocks and keep the soil smooth. You need a hoe to chop down the weeds that might try to take over your garden. You will probably need some fertilizer and, unless it rains a lot, you will need a hose to water your garden, sunshine and most of all seed.

16. What Kind of Ground Are You? Planting In “Good” Ground • Spiritual : The fourth type of soil is the seed that is sown on good ground. When the seed is received it yields fruit multiplying thirty, sixty or even a hundredfold what was sown. Planting in good ground has an amazing return and is a surefire investment. • Notice that the seed is the same, however there is something special about the soil. This soil does not have more, it has less. Less rocks, less thorns, less hardness, less cares, less worries and less distractions so it has more room for the seed to work and produce. • The element to having good producing soil is focusing, meditating and considering the Word of God continually. Listening so that you hear and understand, it is a continual process and it helps keep the weeds out.

17. What Kind of Ground Are You? Seeds • * A seed is alive: it contains life. Your physical senses are incapable of judging whether a seed is alive or not. You cannot see, • feel, hear, smell, or taste the life in a seed. There is only one way to prove a seed is alive -- plant it. • * A seed does nothing until planted. Seeds do not grow sitting in a sack on your shelf. They must be planted in the proper • place. If you desire the Word of God to produce in your life, you must decide to plant the Word in your heart and mind. • * A seed is much smaller than the plant it produces. The problem you face may seem huge. In comparison, a scripture may seem very small. But when planted, that Word will grow in you and overcome the problem.

18. What Kind of Ground Are You? Seeds • * A seed always produces after its kind. Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. Gal 6:7 • * A seed is powerful. As a seed begins to grow, it will push up dirt, rocks, etc. Whatever the obstacles are, God's Word planted in your heart will push them out of the way. • * A seed begins its growth in secret (underground). The only way to tell if a seed is growing is to dig it up, or wait for a plant to appear. If you dig up a seed, you may kill it.

19. What Kind of Ground Are You? Seeds • A seed takes time to produce. No one expects a seed to produce a harvest the same day that seed is planted. Sometimes the Word of God seems to spring up and bear fruit immediately. Yet, if we knew the details, we would understand that the fruit of the Word grew in that person's life over time. • * A seed is persistent. A seed never gives up, but works day and night. Even when you are sleeping, the seed you have planted is working to grow and express itself in a fruitful harvest.

20. What Kind of Ground Are You? Seeds • A seed is not affected by other seeds. Whatever happens to other seeds does not make any difference to a specific seed. Each seed sticks to its own task. One wheat seed planted in a corn field will still produce wheat. Seed does not become discouraged, or quit, even if other seeds die. • * A seed will stop growing without nourishment. Planting a seed is not enough to assure a harvest. Seed must be protected and taken care of until harvest time. A seed which is dug up, or not watered, will not produce. • * More seeds planted produce a larger harvest. But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. II Corin. 9:6

21. What Kind of Ground Are You? • The best way to plant the seed of God's Word in your life is by speaking the Word. Hearing others speak the Word is good – but will not produce as bountiful a harvest as speaking the Word yourself. • Speaking God's Word with your mouth is essential. As we speak God's Word we are planting the seed in our heart for the harvest of results we desire. • Whatever you need, or desire, find scriptures relating to that. Ask God to break up the fallow ground of your heart, then plant those scriptures inside you in abundance. Those seeds will grow up and produce a harvest of what you need or desire. Whatever you need to be saved or delivered from, confession (what you say) is essential to produce the result.

22. What Kind of Ground Are You? Reference: God's Word: Our Daily Bread Bible Study by Stephen J. Vancura