Matthew 7:7,8 Ask, seek, knock. This is an active pursuit that can have failures and successes. Is my attitude positive? An open door might just be a piece of what I am seeking. Is my expectation to keep seeking?

The Five Discourses of Mathew: The Parable

Matthew 13:1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9

Matthew 13:19,20,21,22,23 These verses explain the types of ground.

Why would Jesus want to deliver something that needs a key? Why does He use parables? The key is to have ears to hear and eyes to see heavenly things.

Matthew 5:6 Come with poverty of spirit, wanting to be filled with what comes from heaven. If I am already filled, I will be dull of hearing and satiated from my interaction with what can be gained from the world.

Matthew 6:13 A motive to hunger for righteousness and humility are the hallmarks of this key.

I must have:

• a desire to have the key.
• a desire to use the key.

The gospel is precious. The key is important.

Matthew 13:4 Wayside ground is blind and deaf to the Gospel.

Are there parts of my life that may not be good ground? Are there any places in my garden that not bringing forth fruit? Am I more interested in the profane than the divine? When the gospel is sown, am I dull of hearing because I am hungering for the wrong thing? The Holy Spirit has a solution for ground that is not producing.

Matthew 13:5 In a shallow experience, trials burn the plant. It doesn’t take much to offend.

Matthew 13:6 The key doesn’t work well in this ground. Jesus says let it be.

Matthew 13:23 I must present my whole person to the Gospel to be productive. Some produce more than others. What is most important is that I have good ground.