Is it just me, or in America are we so obsessed with money that when something in the Bible mentions a produce return of 100, 60 or 30 that we think in terms of money. It seems like many of the discussions I have heard over they years focus on a monetary return. What if it is NOT about money?
Scripture
Matthew 13;8-16 Amplified
8Other seeds fell on good soil, and yielded grain--some a hundred times as much as was sown, some sixty times as much, and some thirty.
9He who has ears [to hear], let him be listening and let him [a]consider and [b]perceive and comprehend by hearing.
10Then the disciples came to Him and said, Why do You speak to them in parables?
11And He replied to them, 8Other seeds fell on good soil, and yielded grain--some a hundred times as much as was sown, some sixty times as much, and some thirty.
9He who has ears [to hear], let him be listening and let him [a]consider and [b]perceive and comprehend by hearing.
10Then the disciples came to Him and said, Why do You speak to them in parables?
11And He replied to them, To you it has been given to know the secrets and mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.
12For whoever has [spiritual knowledge], to him will more be given and he will [c]be furnished richly so that he will have abundance; but from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away.
13This is the reason that I speak to them in parables: because [d]having the power of seeing, they do not see; and [e]having the power of hearing, they do not hear, nor do they grasp and understand.
14In them indeed is [f]the process of fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah, which says: You shall indeed hear and hear but never grasp and understand; and you shall indeed look and look but never see and perceive.
15For this nation's heart has grown gross (fat and dull), and their ears heavy and difficult of hearing, and their eyes they have tightly closed, lest they see and perceive with their eyes, and hear and comprehend the sense with their ears, and grasp and understand with their heart, and turn and I should heal them.(A)
16But blessed (happy, fortunate, and [g]to be envied) are your eyes because they do see, and your ears because they do hear, but to them it has not been given.
9He who has ears [to hear], let him be listening and let him [a]consider and [b]perceive and comprehend by hearing.
10Then the disciples came to Him and said, Why do You speak to them in parables?
11And He replied to them, 8Other seeds fell on good soil, and yielded grain--some a hundred times as much as was sown, some sixty times as much, and some thirty.
9He who has ears [to hear], let him be listening and let him [a]consider and [b]perceive and comprehend by hearing.
10Then the disciples came to Him and said, Why do You speak to them in parables?
11And He replied to them, To you it has been given to know the secrets and mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.
12For whoever has [spiritual knowledge], to him will more be given and he will [c]be furnished richly so that he will have abundance; but from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away.
13This is the reason that I speak to them in parables: because [d]having the power of seeing, they do not see; and [e]having the power of hearing, they do not hear, nor do they grasp and understand.
14In them indeed is [f]the process of fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah, which says: You shall indeed hear and hear but never grasp and understand; and you shall indeed look and look but never see and perceive.
15For this nation's heart has grown gross (fat and dull), and their ears heavy and difficult of hearing, and their eyes they have tightly closed, lest they see and perceive with their eyes, and hear and comprehend the sense with their ears, and grasp and understand with their heart, and turn and I should heal them.(A)
16But blessed (happy, fortunate, and [g]to be envied) are your eyes because they do see, and your ears because they do hear, but to them it has not been given.
Observation
Did you catch what Jesus said in verse 11!!! To you it has been given to know the secrets and mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. The secrets and mysteries of the Kingdom Of Heaven have been given to me.
Application
God has opened up his kingdom for me, through Christ. The kingdom of God is mine for the taking. How does money even compare to that? It's not a 100/60/30 fold return on money given, it is a 100/60/30 times return on what my eyes/eyes and heart take in from hearing God's word. That's where I want and need the return. Where does my treasure lie? In a financial return of 100 times, or having my eyes hear a secret from the Kingdom of God, and having the Holy Spirit grow that seed in me 100 times, for Kingdom returns.
So what does this look like? First, I need to spend time with the Master Gardner, He will be planting. Second, have open ears and open eyes so I receive the planting with gladness. Ask the Gardner to constantly till my soil to keep my soil "good". The Bible says in Matthew 13:22, "but the worries of life and the deceitfulness of riches choke it(the good seed) making it unfruitful". So if I stop worrying about this vapor of a life that I have, and stop running after the riches of this world and be deceived that that will make me happy, keep my soil freshly tilled by God each day, then the secrets and mysteries of God's Kingdom, given to ME, will produce 100, 60 or 30 times the initial planting. Think about this. Just God putting Himself and His mysteries into me should be enough to last me throughout eternity. But Jesus is saying, (warren paraphrased) Oh but wait just a second. God will reveal himself to you and plant himself in you and give you knowledge about his ways. BUT, if you will remain in me and keep the soil ready, keep your eyes open and see, keep your ears open and hear, and keep the callouses from forming, then what God has planted in you will grow 100, or 60, or 30 times." More of God? He wants to share 100 times more with me than he has already. I need to stay prepared.
Prayer
Father, What a great gift you have given me...the knowledge of the secrets and mysteries of heaven! You are wanting to reveal more of you to me. You are ready. I ask that you would clean out my ears and wash out my eyes, scrape away any callouses that have formed so I ingest the knowledge you have given me. I want my soil to be ready, I want to know 30 times, 60 times or 100 times more of you. But that will not come if my soil is hard, or if there are weeds there. I ask that you till me and weed me of things that would stop the knowledge of the secrets of heaven from being made clear to me. Amen.
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