by Rose Murdock

"And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow;" Matthew 13:3

The Word of God starts out as a seed.  It’s a seed that’s planted in your heart and is meant to grow.  As it grows it begins to produce fruit in your life.  But Satan comes to try and steal the Word of God from you.  He doesn’t want you living for God.  He doesn’t want you producing Word-fruit in your life.  He will try and steal the Word before it even gets planted in your heart, before you ever have understanding or revelation of it (verse 19).  He is as the fowls of the air who steal the seed planted by the wayside (verse 4).

But once you receive the Word into your heart then his next effort is to keep it from growing in your life.  If he can’t steal the Word as a seed then he will try and attack the root system.  But it’s up to you how fruitful the Word is in your life.  Satan can’t stop it from growing, he can only get you to stop it from growing!  You control the condition of the ground, your heart!

We’re going to look specifically at the "root system" Jesus is talking about in this parable.  A root does two things.  It serves as support for the plant and as a source of nourishment.

1. The root system anchors the plant into the soil. It keeps it anchored in the ground.
2. The roots draw food and water into the plant and stores food for the plant.

The one Jesus is emphasizing here is the function of the root to provide and store nourishment for the plant.  Let’s look at what He said the root will do.

"…because they had no root, they withered away." (Matt. 13:6)

"But when the sun was up, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away." (Mark 4:6)

"And some fell upon a rock; and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away, because it lacked moisture."  (Luke 8:6)

So the purpose of the root is to provide moisture or nourishment for the plant in order to keep it from withering away under the heat of the sun.

Now let’s look at what happens to the person who has a poor root system:

"he…heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it;..he..dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended." (Matt. 13:20-21)

"when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness; And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word’s sake, immediately they are offended." (Mark 4:16-17)

"They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away." (Luke 8:13)

These people will receive the Word of God with joy.  They get excited about the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  But then when trouble or persecution starts they give in to either offense or temptation.  Why?  Because they have no root.  The Word in their life hasn’t been able to grow and expand enough to provide and store the nourishment they need to get through these times.

The root system begins when the seed is planted in the ground but it will only go so far as the ground allows (In another teaching called "Stony Ground" (December 2000) I also talk about the ground as the condition of the heart and how we need to remove the stones in the ground of our heart so that the Word can grow in our lives).

Notice Jesus said, "No root in themselves."  You have something to do about the "root system" in your life.  When you hear the Word of God you need to make room for it.  God will not do that for you.  Of course He will help you as you seek Him, but you are the one who has to make a decision to allow the Word of God place in your life.

The Heat of the Sun:

Those with a poor root system will soon give in to either offense or temptation.  According to Strong's Concordance the word ‘offended’ here in Matthew and Mark’s account of this parable means to ‘entrap, to trip up, to entice to sin.’  So you could say that they hear the Word, receive it with gladness and joy and stay with it for a little while but then when trouble, persecution or temptation comes along they get tripped up.  They don’t know how to stand through times of trouble.  They don’t know what to do when persecuted.  They don’t know how to resist temptation.  They don’t recognize the enemy has set a trap for them to destroy the Word of God in their lives.

Now all of this wouldn’t destroy them if they had a strong root system.  But their source of supply is weak.  Why?  Because the ground of their heart is stony so the roots stay shallow and can’t grow.  The Word of God is not allowed to grow and expand so that the plant can even maintain let alone grow.  The Word of God that was planted in their heart will wither away and will not be able to produce fruit in their life.

A plant that barely has a root is easy to pluck up.  It might even get blown over in the wind.  And when the sun is up there’s not enough moisture stored in the roots to withstand the heat because there’s not enough roots.  Part of the function of the root is to store nourishment.

It’s not wise to wait until times of trouble come before we begin to prepare for them.  We need to study the Word of God now, before trouble comes, and we need to give it top priority in our lives now so the roots are large enough to be able to store nourishment.  We need to break up the stony ground now, before the heat of the sun comes.  Before trouble, before persecution, before temptation.  So when these things come you can draw from the nourishment of the Word of God.  It’s time to throw out the stones that are hindering the Word in your life.  It’s time to throw out anything in your thinking that is contrary to the Word of God and give God first place!

Sometimes people go on their way through life and don’t prepare for the drought.  They don’t think anything will ever happen that would try their faith.  They don’t think temptation will ever rise up before them.  And when it does it catches them off guard.  Now is the time to expand your root system.  Now is the time to allow the Word of God to grow.  Now is the time to give the Word full reign in your heart.  Don’t wait until trouble hits.  And if trouble has already hit then you definitely need to start now.

Can You Handle It?

At times God will move miraculously and do great things.  We love it when He moves through the gifts of the Spirit and miracles happen.  But if we’re going to be able to maintain and keep what He does in times like these then we have to expand our root system.  We have to allow the Word place in our lives.  We wonder why God doesn’t move more often in spectacular and supernatural ways.  Sometimes if He did it would destroy us because we wouldn’t be able to maintain what He does!

If a plant grows to be a big beautiful plant overnight and doesn’t have the root system to support and maintain it then it will be destroyed.  We’re seeking God to do spectacular things and He’s waiting for us to allow the root system of His Word to expand to a place where we can handle it.

Have root in yourselves.  Make room for the seed of His Word to grow.  The first step is understanding of the Word and from there we need to submit to it.  To make it the authority in our life.  To be a doer and not just a hearer.  To make a decision to be obedient to Him, even in tough times.  And when we do, the Word becomes fruitful in our lives and we will stand strong no matter what the enemy tries to bring against us!

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