GOOD SOIL
Luke 8:15 (NLT) And the seeds that fell on the good soil represent honest, good-hearted people who hear God’s word, cling to it, and patiently produce a huge harvest.
What constitutes a person having good soil? It means they don’t have the other three kinds of soil. In other words, their heart is not hardened; they don’t have what Jesus called wayside soil; their soil is not like a concrete slab. Some people’s soil is that way. We must pray for these people that the blinders come off their eyes. It also means that our soil is not full of stones, that we have not let the things Jesus said form those stones in our heart. This means we can be free from the effects of persecution, tribulation, affliction, and temptation because when the devil brings those things, we can immediately resist them and turn them around for our good. The last thing it means is we have no weeds in the garden of our heart. Jesus said those weeds were the deceitfulness of riches, pleasures of this life, the lust of other things, and the cares of this world. We will always need to maintain our garden because it is not automatic. We do that like we do everything else: keep doing the Word, stay in faith, and serve God.
Our scripture does give us a few insights as well. Remember, all these other soils hear the same Word and even, maybe, the same amount of Word, but the difference is we have tended our soil to what Jesus called “Good!” That means that as we hear the Word of God, we do it and keep it with patience. Hebrews 6:12 (NLT) says, “Then you will not become spiritually dull and indifferent. Instead, you will follow the example of those who are going to inherit God’s promises because of their faith and endurance.” It takes faith and patience to inherit all the promises of God. The promises are already yes; that is the will of God. You hear those promises and faith comes. Now that your heart is good and producing good things, your mouth will automatically begin to work. Luke 6:45 says that out of the abundance of your heart your mouth will speak; that is called the confession of faith. You hold fast to what you say using patient endurance, and then the seed of the Word of God that you planted will produce the desired result.
There is a variable; Jesus said some produce 30, some 60, and some 100-fold. What is the difference? I would say you could answer this by looking at a natural harvest. What brings in a bumper crop? The seed was good, and the soil was good, so what other variables are there? The amount of rain and sun? Well, this is what I know: the Holy Spirit and His outpouring are often referred to as rain. He will come to us as the early and the latter rain (Hosea 6:3). The sun brings the light. This natural process is known as photosynthesis. Spiritually, the Word of God is the light. So, keep the light on and keep the rain flowing. Stay in the Word and stay with the move of God, and you will be a candidate for the 100-fold return from the Word of God.