Four Kinds of Soil - Matthew 13:12-43

Highlights:

* You are not doing nothing with your gift from God (the holy Ghost) if you are encouraging someone in the Lord with it.

* You are doing something valuable with your gift when you feel the truth and say amen at a good testimony.

* Receiving the holy Ghost will not save you if you do not somehow put it to use.

* Be faithful to Christ. If you are faithful, you will be fruitful. And if you are fruitful, you will be blessed.

* The apostles understood that repentance is granted by God, or a person cannot repent.

* Hardness of heart, the lack of feelings after hearing the word of God, is a terrible curse.

* It was not given to many of Jesus' followers to feel Jesus' preaching, so that they would repent and be given eternal life. In fact, some of the Jews who were left out rejoiced that they were not among those who received the holy Ghost from heaven on the day of Pentecost, just as Isaiah foretold (Isa. 66:15).

* God's enemies today are glad to be left out of the Blessing (the baptism of the holy Ghost)

* The degree of your joy depends on how much you value being called by God. Just how good is it to you that, "to you it has been given"?

* Jesus said that understanding the parable of the four kinds of soil is essential to understanding any of his parables.

* Before the Spirit came, no one understood Jesus, but there were some out of whose heart, the Evil One did not take away the seed Jesus sowed. This is because, although they did not understand with their minds what he taught, they understood it with their hearts. They felt something beyond their minds, and they loved it. This tells us that loving Jesus counts as understanding him.

* The Evil One never merely comes in and snatches the truth out of someone's heart. He has no such power. What he does have power to do is to offer something in exchange for the truth that has been sown.

* Don't allow the approval of people to become a substitute for the favor of God. It is a trap.

* You may have gotten weak or slack, and the soil of your soul may be dry, but Jesus has an endless supply of fertilizer and water, and he freely gives it to whoever asks.

* When God sends a "strong delusion" upon a person, that person can only believe that lie.

* If you understand the truth today, it is only because God has given you a heart to understand it. There is no other possible reason. And your eternal happiness will be determined by how thankful you are for that gift.

Scriptures referenced in this video:

Luke 19:15-23
Matthew 10:41-42
Luke 19:24-26
Acts 11:18
Lamentations 3:61-65
Exodus 4:21
Exodus 8:15, 32
Exodus 9:12
James 1:23-25
1Thessalonians 2:14-16
Isaiah 66:5-6
1Corinthians 6:7, 13
2Thessalonians 2:10-12