by Frank Sasso

A long time ago, there was a farmer. When springtime came, he went out to his field to till it and prepare it for harvest. As he was going to till the field, he came across parts of the field that was filled with rocks and he cleared them out as best as he could, but he knew that it was going to be a while before he was able to get them all out. So, he knew there was going to be a rocky part of his field. As he came across another part of his field, he noticed a section filled with weeds. He did the best he could at getting the weeds out, but, you know how it is if you worked in your garden, when you start pulling at weeds, you never quite get all the roots out. The farmer knew that it was going to be a while before he was able to get them all out. So, he knew there was going to be a part of his field that would have weeds. There was another part of his field, however, that was good. It was really good. He knew that THIS portion of the field would definitely be the most productive portion. So, after he tilled the field, he came back a few weeks later to plant. He planted wheat. So, he starts casting the wheat seed out, side to side, and as he goes back to his house, he turns and he realizes that a lot of the seed had fallen on the path and that he had trampled them. He also saw that birds had already come onto the path and was beginning to eat the seeds of the path.

HE WHO HAS EARS TO HEAR, LET HIM HEAR.

That's the parable Jesus told. That's how He ended it. He who has ears to hear, let him hear. Now, thousands and thousands of people came to hear Jesus and He did a great job telling parables like that. But, when Jesus went away, He had the opportunity to share with His disciples what the parable meant.

God showed me something very different about this parable. Something I never knew. He told me that I was going to see this parable in a different way. Here's what He showed me.

The introduction to the Jesus' explanation (from the NIV) of this parable reads like this:

Luke 8:9
"The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you..."

That word "secrets" in the Greek is "mystikos" which means MYSTERY. It has a second definition. An additional one. Mystery - things confided in only to the initiated and not to ordinary mortals.

You get the secrets. The disciples took time to write them down for you. So, YOU'RE the initiated one. What does that mean? It means you're not to behave like ordinary mortals. You're to behave like EXTRA-ordinary IM-mortals! Why? Because THAT'S who you are! This parable is about the mysteries of the Kingdom of God. The word "kingdom" is defined as ROYAL, POWER, KINGSHIP, DOMINION, RULE. There's an additional nuance I want to bring out in this. It also refers to royalty that is conferred upon Christians in Jesus' Kingdom.

The parable is about the mysteries that are being revealed to those extra-ordinary immortals, which power and royalty has been conferred to, because they are part of Jesus' Kingdom.

This parable is for you, the believer. That's who it's for. This parable is normally used to refer to talking about the salvation experience.
Luke 8:5-8 (NIV)
"A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds ate it up. Some fell on rocky ground, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown.”

What I'm sure you've ever heard, like what I've ever heard, about this parable is the gospel of salvation. Whenever this usually gets preached, it was about the good news that Jesus came to die for you sins. Don't get me wrong. It's a wonderful message. Its an awesome message! Some people heard the word and were like the seeds that fell along the path, the devil comes and takes away the Word from their heart so they can't believe and be saved. Some who hear the gospel of salvation,who are like the rocky ground, receive it with joy, but they haven't got any roots. When seed falls in rocky places, the reason that it springs up so quickly is because, in shallow soil, all the water and warmth is right there at the top of the soil, so the roots have nowhere to go. The other seed fall among the weeds and those who hear the salvation message, they hear it and go on their way and the cares of life distract them. That's pretty much how I've always heard this preached. Again, nothing wrong with it. God just showed me something more.

At the beginning, Jesus says that this parable reveals the mysteries of the Kingdom of God for the saints of the Kingdom. It's for you. It was written for you. It applies to His sons and daughters. It applies to you today.

The seed is the Word. The word is  "Logos". Logos - a word uttered by a living voice embodying a conception. In the body of Christ, on a whole, there's been confusion that's come out over this word. Often when you say, "the Word of God", you're talking about the Bible. But, the Word of God, unless it is accompanied by the Living Word, is just words on a page. Unless the Spirit of God is connected to your spirit while you're reading the Word, you are not connecting with the Word of God. The Word of God is centered around a relationship with Him. His Word can only come out of a relationship with Him and the great thing about God's Word is that it can come through anywhere because its alive! It's a living Word that is spoken. It's possible to know the Bible forward and backward, right to left and left to right,and not hear the heart of God. That's how things like the Crusades happened. Hundreds of thousands getting killed, in the name of God, because people missed it. They didn't let the Spirit of God guide their interpretation of the words on the page. This parable is talking about the Living Word. It's talking about the gospel of the Kingdom, which is broader, not better, it's broader than the gospel of salvation. The gospel of the Kingdom doesn't stop there. It also talks about transformation. The gospel of the Kingdom is the good news that not only did Jesus die for you to save you, but He also is not going to stop with you. He's going to keep working with you and in you until you are transformed tone in His image! He's not only going to work IN you, He's also going to work THROUGH you to transform society and culture around you so that the kingdom of the world begins to look like the Kingdom of Heaven!

That's the gospel of the Kingdom and that's what this parable is about. So, reading it again with THAT perspective.

The seed is the Word. The Living Word. The Spoken Word. Those along the path are the ones that hear and then the devil comes and tacked away that living Word from their hearts so they may not believe and be saved. The accurate translation of the word "SAVED" is to "be safe and kept from harm", which, but the way, is a good thing. These are secrets God wants to share. These are secrets that He wants to confer onto us, His kids. When you hear a word from God, and you allow yourself to be like the seed that falls on the rocks, you get excited about it for a little while but then let that passion die down and don't keep pursuing a word He gave you, you're going to miss an opportunity that He wants to provide for you.

Years ago, the Lord gave me a word concerning a park across the street from my house. He said, "That's your park. Now, take it". For the next few years, my neighbors and I would patrol it at night telling people that they couldn't hang out in the park at night. It closes at dusk. People would then leave the park at night saying stuff like, "We're sorry, Officer". I never identified myself as an officer or cop of any sort. The neighborhood kids would refer to it as "Mr. Frank's park". Just recently, I was given a formal letter and a badge from the city to be just that. I am now an S.E.O. A security enforcement officer. Why? I pursued the word the Lord gave me and now, for all intents and purposes, it IS my park.

The parable of the sower is not supposed to be a one time event. It's not supposed to be a story about salvation. It's supposed to be a story of the way princes and princesses operate in the Kingdom. We need to be people who hear the Word and are like the good soil. The good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart to hear the Word. They retain it, and by preserving produce a crop. That's what you're called to be. That's the lifestyle that God calls you to be. That lamp stand parable is next and it talks about the very same thing, but because of threat the parables are divided up in the Bible, you hear then separate from each other and there's a big picture hear.

In verse 15, Jesus just finished saying, "But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop." Then He says, "No one lights a lamp and hides it in a jar and puts it under a bed!" What's He saying? He saying that nodody with access to the mysteries of the Kingdom of God hides them because it has transformational power! If you have access to a lamp, hold it up, it glorifies God, it illuminates culture, it illuminates the people around you, and it reveals the mysteries of Heaven that are there for you to access and for you to walk in.

Verse 17. "For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open."

Verse 18. Therefore consider carefully how you listen. Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what they think they have will be taken from them.”
In other words, be careful HOW you listen because the secrets of the Kingdom are powerful. Be careful how you listen because you have access to this lamp that reveals the secrets and the mysteries of the Kingdom of God. Ok, so then some guy runs in and says, "Hey Jesus, dude, your mother and brothers are outside!" Jesus says, "My mother and brothers are those who will hear My words, My Living words, and put them into practice." He's saying the people who are a part of His royal family, who are a part of the Kingdom, who are His sons and daughters, THOSE are His family and THOSE are the ones who hear His words, His Living words and begin to put them into practice. Now, He's wasn't trying to insult His mother and brothers. They weren't even there. The chapter goes on, Jesus finishes talking and says to His disciples, "Let's go to the other side of the lake." So, they all wander down to the water, hop into a boat, and as they went, Jesus fell asleep and a storm came. Actually it was a squall. A huge storm. Watch the movie, "White Squall". THAT'S, what I believe, is a great example of what  the disciples faced in that boat. The disciples freaked out. Panicked! I heard my pastor from New York say this concerning this. he said, "These were professional fishermen and THEY were panicking. The fishermen were panicking! Do you know how I would panic if the FISHERMEN were panicking?!?!?!"

But Jesus slept. You may have heard that Jesus' was so centered around the reality of the Kingdom that He was able to walk and live in a place of peace even when everything around Him was in turmoil or that His internal reality was greater than His external reality. I had the thought that maybe Jesus was faking it; pretending to be asleep wondering what the disciples were going to do; seeing if they would step up and take action; seeing if they learned anything.

Jesus rose and said, "Peace! Be still!" Suddenly everything stops. Peter had his oar upon the air. You could have heard the water dripping from their beards. It's quiet. They all slowly turn and look at Jesus and He says, "WHERE'S your faith?", then He goes back to sleep.

Doesn't that seem unfair? They didn't got get Jesus until they were practically drowning! Why did Jesus address faith right off the bat? It's because faith is defined as "a conviction or belief respecting man's relationship to God and divine things." Jesus had JUST been talking to them about their rule in the Kingdom. He had JUST been talking to them about how their relationship establishes them with access to the mysteries of Heaven, with the authority, power, and dominion over creation that is held in Heaven. They have access and that's why He asked, "WHERE is your belief in our relationship? Where is your conviction about who you are? Because if you walk in that conviction, you'll be able to walk where I'm walking!"

To wrap this up, allow me to share how this all applies.

It is in God's heart for you to be passionate about listening and hearing and about putting yourselves in a place where you become a target for the secrets of heaven. How do you become a target? By being a person that God can trust. I know a lot of people that I believe are targets because they are bold and unafraid to speak out those things they hear from God's heart and because of that, they become a magnet for resources that God wants to use establish His Kingdom on the earth. God is calling you to press into that communication with Him, to open the doors of possibility in the way that He speaks to you.