Kingdom Entrepreneurs - Matthew 13:23

"The seed that fell on good soil represents those who truly hear and understand God’s word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted!" (Matthew 13:23, NLT).

The parable of the sower is the first recorded parable of Jesus in the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. In the parable of the sower, Jesus told about a farmer who was planting seed for crops:

• Some of the farmer's seed fell along the path and the birds came and ate it.
• Some seed fell on rocky places where the soil was shallow and the plants sprang up quickly but soon withered because they had no roots.   
• Some seed fell among thorns and the weeds didn't allow the plants to grow. 
• Some seed fell on good soil where a crop was produced that was many times greater than what was sown.

Jesus explained the parable of the sower to the disciples saying that the seed represented the message of the good news of the Kingdom of God—the gospel.

The farmer or the sower was, of course, God, and the different locations where the seed fell characterized the manner in which hearers of the gospel believed and received the Kingdom message.

The first category of hearers refused to believe its message while the other three categories of hearers received (and believed) the message of the gospel but responded in different ways.

Some received the message with joy but it didn't get "rooted" or "grounded" in their lives. Some received the message but didn't make it a priority and other obligations consumed their time and money. Yet, others heard the message and it was a life-changing experience!

Three different categories of people received (and believed) the message, but only one of the three was productive for the Kingdom of God.

These were the Kingdom entrepreneurs!

Kingdom entrepreneurs have been transformed by the message of the gospel to the extent that God uses them to effectively transact the business of His Kingdom.

God causes His Kingdom to prosper abundantly in their lives so that their profitability for the Kingdom is increased to amazing proportions! They produce a harvest of souls that can be even a hundred times greater than the seed that was planted in their lives!

As a citizen of God's Kingdom, you are faced with some very important business decisions during your lifetime.

And, in the final analysis you must either be productive or else your service to God's Kingdom may not be required: "To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away" (Matthew 25:29, NLT).

Adapted from The Kingdom Order: Living for the Future in the Present, by Steven C. Mills