The Fruit of the Spirit Study Week 24: Sowing Patience

HeartWings Front Porch Bible Study Series June 17 Week 24

Welcome to our third lesson of study about patience. How do we prepare the soil of our hearts to plant and grow a mature crop of this fruit? Let’s learn from Jesus’s parable of the sower and the seed.

Heartwings Front Porch Bible Study Series Week 24 Patience by Karen Jurgens
Heartwings Front Porch Bible Study Series Week 24 Parable of the Sower by Karen Jurgens
Heartwings Front Porch Bible Study Series Week 24 Parable of the Sower Scripture Memory by Karen Jurgens

“But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience” (Luke 8:15 NKJV).

Heartwings Front Porch Bible Study Series Week 24 Parable of the Sower Scripture to read by Karen Jurgens

Luke 8:4-15 NKJV

Heartwings Front Porch Bible Study Series Week 24 Parable of the Sower Scripture to examine by Karen Jurgens

Jesus speaks in a parable…

What exactly is a parable? According to Merriam-Webster, it’s an allegory or a short fictitious story that teaches a moral or religious principle.

As an agrarian society, the people in Jesus’s day could easily identify with a story about farming. The sower in this parable scattered identical seed on four different types of soil, each yielding different results.

Same seed, different results…

Some seed fell by the wayside or the side of the road. People trampled over it, and birds devoured it before it had a chance to take root.

Some fell on the rock where plants sprang up immediately. But they withered and died just as fast due to a lack of water.

Some fell among thorns, which sprang up and choked out the new plants.

But the seed that fell on the good ground sprang up, producing a crop with a yield hundreds of times over.

“When He [Jesus] had said these things He cried, ‘He who has ears to hear, let him hear!’” (Luke 8:8b NKJV).

Heartwings Front Porch Bible Study Series Week 24 Parable of the Sower Scripture to discuss by Karen Jurgens

Why Jesus taught with parables…

The disciples asked Jesus why He spoke to the crowds only in parables. “And He said, ‘To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is given in parables, that “Seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand”’” (Luke 8:10 NKJV).

Have you ever heard unbelievers remark that if they try to read God’s Word, it makes no sense? The Word springs from a spiritual source, not from the world’s cistern. That may seem counter-productive, but God’s Word is precious, and Jesus warns not to let “your pearls be trampled by swine” (Click HERE to read Matthew 7:6).

God’s Word provides ample explanation about salvation to draw us to the cross. Accepting Jesus into our hearts as Lord and Savior opens our spiritual eyes and ears to understand His Word. As believers, we cherish, study, and hide His sacred Word in our hearts.

As Jesus explained to His believing disciples, the Word of God produces varied results in different people due to the kind of soil in each person’s heart.

  • Some hear, but Satan comes to immediately steal it away so that it never has a chance to take root.
  • Others hear and receive the Word with joy, but as soon as trials or temptations arise, they fall away.
  • Many bear the cares of the world, along with the pursuit of wealth and pleasures, all which prevent them from bearing mature fruit.
  • But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear much fruit with patience” (Luke 8:15 NKJV).

What prevents us from bearing mature fruit…

  • Cares of the world: “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:6 NKJV).
  • The pursuit of wealth: “Do not overwork to be rich; because of your own understanding, cease! Will you set your eyes on that which is not? For riches certainly make themselves wings; They fly away like an eagle toward heaven” (Proverbs 23:4-5 NKJV).
  • Worldly pleasures: “Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? … Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God” (James 4:1,4 NKJV).

The key to mature fruit…

And the most important ingredient? Patience. As we patiently serve the Lord, we must be steadfast while the fruit in our garden matures. Remember that a real gardener must hoe the soil and pluck weeds around the plants as he waits for the fruit and vegetables to mature to ripeness. So we must also patiently care for the Word as it grows in the good soil of our hearts.

Here are some tips that may help encourage you in your growth:

  • Listen to sermons often, not just once a week. The internet offers a myriad of sites where you can find a specific topic or a special minister. Many have YouTube videos you can watch online. Just type in what you wish in your search bar and see all the possibilities.
  • Listen to praise and worship music. There are many stations to fit your preferences on Pandora, for example, or you can download music from favorite artists to your device. Praise music lifts our spirits and lets us soar!
  • Too busy to sit down and read the Scriptures as often as you’d like? Download apps like BibleGateway. You can choose which translation you prefer and set it to read to you while you work or drive in your car. It’s a great way for your mind and heart to always be full of God’s Word.
  • Pray without ceasing. Talk to Jesus about everything because He cares about you–from your smallest to greatest concerns. He is waiting to have a conversation with you every day.

Are you growing patience in the good soil of your heart?

Heartwings Front Porch Bible Study Series Week 24 Parable of the Sower Let's Pray by Karen Jurgens

Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for the parable of the sower. May the soil of our hearts be tilled and ready to receive your seeds of patience today. Let us flourish with the sweet rain of the Holy Spirit and let us bask in Your light as we grow mature fruit. We give You all the praise and the glory. In Jesus’s Name, Amen.

Front Porch Bible Study Series by Karen Jurgens James 5:16

9 thoughts on “The Fruit of the Spirit Study Week 24: Sowing Patience

  1. What can I say about this most amazing post today.
    I have a wealth of knowledge and sites as well as apps to download.
    One thing that has really kept Satan most often than not away is praying without ceasing. In fact, I don’t say Amen after praying because it would be like saying Bye.
    I also sing, rather hum sinse I don’t always know the words. It just comes out of me from my joy. I even do when walking alone but I always look around to see that I’m alone, otherwise, I hum silently.
    On reference to James 4:4 about not being a friend of the world. My understanding is being in the world but not partaking of worldly things such as things that would be displeasing to the Lord.
    I BELIEVE WITH ALL MY HEART THAT THIS SERIES WAS ESPECIALLY WRITTEN FOR ME AND PERHAPS OTHERS LIKE MYSELF WHO ARE EAGER TO SATURATE ONESELF IN THE WORD.
    Thank you for helping me understand the Word of God and how patience is so important.

    • I’m so blessed that this study is helping you grow, dear Sandra. You have several good strategies to stay in His presence and drink in His spirit. As we abide in the vine, our joy is full. May you continue to enjoy His grace and peace in your daily praise, worship, and study. You are a true blessing to me, sweet sister. Much love and big hugs ❤️xoxo

  2. Love this: “Accepting Jesus into our hearts as Lord and Savior opens our spiritual eyes and ears to understand His Word. As believers, we cherish, study, and hide His sacred Word in our hearts.” Amen! Well said!

    Another thing that prevents us from bearing mature fruit is listed in the verse that says the seeds “it withered away, because it had no moisture”. Like planted seeds, we need that continual watering, that continual washing by God’s Word, because it is His Word that accurately divides our thoughts & intentions of our hearts, purifying, cleansing, & watering us so that the fruit of the Spirit may grow. Ephesians 5:26 says that Jesus gave Himself up for the church “so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the Word.” We can listen to songs, teachings, and can pray, and they do help, but it’s God’s Word that provides the exact moisture that we need, and the only thing that is always absolutely true. Other things can sometimes lead us astray, and aren’t always true & accurate, but God’s Word is truth, pure, tested & tried. God & His Word are inseparable. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John 1:1

    • Wonderful points, dear Becky. I absolutely agree. The Word is our truth to which we must cling. It alone produces our growth to maturity. New Christians are weaned on the milk of the Word and, as we mature, we eat the meat. And yes, we must be very selective and discerning these days about what we choose to listen to and watch. These are days of deception, and it’s easy to go astray. Jesus Himself is the Word of God who became flesh. “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
      ‭‭JOHN‬ ‭1:14‬ ‭NASB‬‬ https://www.bible.com/bible/100/jhn.1.14.nasb
      Following Jesus means staying in His Word. Bless His holy Name! Much love and hugs to you, dear sister. ❤️xoxo

    • So true, Mimi. His Word makes us like Him as we grow in patience. And isn’t it wonderful how He extends His patience to us! I’m also thankful for that. Thanks for commenting. Hugs and blessings ❤️xoxo

  3. Karen, thank you for your excellent message for this week. I especially love this parable and the way that you clearly presented “sowing patience.” As I abide in His Word, may my heart be filled with good soil to grow His fruit to maturity and serve Him fully for His honor and glory. I am joining you in loving affirmation and agreement with your ending prayer. j

    • Thank you for your kind response, dear Joyce. I love the parables because they reflect a spiritual truth wrapped in a common story we can all understand. His Word is the spiritual soil where His truth grows His fruit inside our hearts. It’s fascinating to understand how we grow in the spirit! May we continue to thrive in our Lord Jesus now and always. Much love and big hugs! ❤️xoxo

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