the Third Week after Easter
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Daily Devotionals
Grace for Today
Matthew 13:3
‘Behold, a sower went forth to sow’
Read Matthew 13:1-23
The man who preaches the gospel is compared to a farmer who sows his fields with seed. We preach the gospel earnestly to all men, broadcasting the precious seed. But only when the gospel is received ‘in an honest and good heart’ does it bring forth fruit. In this parable of the Sower our Lord tells us three things about all true believers:
1. The true believer Receives the Word in an honest and good heart. No man’s heart is honest by nature. It must be made honest by the grace of God. This is one of the first acts of divine grace in a man’s soul: His heart is renewed, and made to see things in their true light (Ezekiel 36:26; John 3:19-21). We see who God is, what sin is and what we are.
A good heart is a broken and contrite heart. In order for soil to be good and ready to receive seed, it must be broken by the plough. Even so, a good heart is one that has been broken by God the Holy Spirit. Until the heart is broken, it is unfit to receive the seed of the gospel. It must be broken by the conviction of sin, the severity of the law, the sight of a crucified Christ and the knowledge of divine love.
A good heart is one that has been tender and soft. There the seed takes deep and permanent root.
2. The true believer not only receives the word, he keeps it. The gospel is kept in the heart of faith. Our Lord holds us and we go on holding him. True faith is persevering faith. True grace is enduring grace. When God prepares the heart and sows the seed, the plant cannot die (Hebrews 3:6; Hebrews 10:23; Hebrews 10:38-39).
3. The true believer brings forth fruit. He does not produce fruit, but brings it forth. The fruit is the produce of the Spirit of God. The fruit has not yet come to perfection, but it is real. Mark my words, there is no such thing as a fruitless believer. They all repent. They all believe. They all obey (John 15:5-6; John 15:16). They bring forth heart fruit (Galatians 5:22-23). They bring forth lip fruit (Hebrews 13:15). And they bring forth life fruit (Romans 6:14-16).
