Verses 1-9, 13-20
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See teaching on Matthew 13. People's hearts are like soil. The Word is like seed that can grow in a person's life, either to get them saved or to cause a believer to grow as he/she learns from the Word.
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If people don't understand the Word (Matthew 13:19), if they give up on following it when it gets hard, or if they are distracted from the Word because of sins or worries, they will not grow, and hearing the Word will not truly help them.
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Even as believers, we won't grow stronger in Christ if we don't keep good soil—keep our hearts in good condition.
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Listen to the Word, take your time to understand it, be patient and never give up on following it, don't be distracted or weighed down by sins, pleasures, or worries, and you'll grow well (also read Luke 8:11-15).
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In addition to repenting from known sin, make sure that you are diligent to be financially stable and cultivating healthy diet and exercise habits. All these are matters of the physical life/world that are necessary for the soul to breathe and faith to grow.
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Verses 10-12, 24-25
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Jesus used parables in many of His teachings—stories that masked the full meaning of His words—so that many of the Jews, who didn't want to listen anyway—would not understand and believe.
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This fulfilled a prophecy of Isaiah (Isaiah 6:9-10). Part of God's judgment on Israel was that they had to be blinded. Why?
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Verses 24-25. If we refuse to listen and don't want to understand, our listening and understanding ability will be taken away. The Jews didn't want to listen, so the consequence was that they would not be able to understand Jesus even when they closely followed Him around.
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Be careful about what you let yourself hear, be careful to listen to the wisdom of the Word, and seek understanding from other wise believers! If you listen and seek understanding well, more understanding will be given to you. You will grow! Growth will come as faithfully as you seek to understand.
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Additionally, if you seek to hear and listen to the Spirit, more hearing ability will be added to you over time! Desire to hear and follow the Spirit.
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But if you are careless about what you hear, or don't listen to the Word and seek to understand, you will only misunderstand more and more. That's why Jesus says, “For whoever has, to him more will be given; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away.”
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Verses 21-23
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All truth is revealed with time.
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When we do hear and understand truth, we are responsible to live by it and share it with others. Not sharing the truth is like covering up a light.
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Your understanding of the Word can bring light to others, so share it!
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Verses 26-29
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When we hear and follow the Word, and when we share the Word with others, growth comes!
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Growth looks like more people being saved, and ourselves growing stronger in the faith. This is the kingdom growing.
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Don't focus on self-improvement or striving to grow in your own willpower. Growth happens automatically. Just focus on doing the Word and spreading it to others, out of love for God, and the growth that's needed will happen as surely as plants grow!
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Verses 30-32
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The Gospel and our faith start out small and undetectable to many. In addition, Christianity was never meant to become a global empire. Believers are a modest group. And yet, the Word is moving and growing all around the world!
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Eventually, Christ's rule will become a great kingdom on earth that will destroy all other kingdoms of this world. This will happen when Christ returns.
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Do your best to spread the Word of God in all kinds of places. Your efforts may seem small, but the outcome will be great in the end! Don't be discouraged!
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Additionally, remember that your faith should also be like a mustard seed (Matthew 17:20).
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Your efforts may seem small, but working at obeying God and growing your faith will have a massive impact! Remember this!
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Verses 33-34
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Jesus taught at a level that His disciples could receive. We should do the same.
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Don't share or teach what is beyond a person's ability to understand. Teach what they can grasp and what will also stretch their understanding.
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Remember the importance of being “alone” with Jesus in your own quiet time. Take times alone to read and pray. These times are essential for growing your understanding.
Verses 35-41
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Jesus was well aware that they would end up caught in a storm, and yet He commanded them to get into a boat and cross the sea.
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Understand that obedience will sometimes lead to challenges and hardships, but there's always a purpose.
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The disciples were faced with their own fear, and Jesus taught them something about faith.
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At first, the disciples saw Jesus sleeping as His a lack of care for what they thought was a critical state.
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Jesus was not ignoring or neglecting them. He was trying to show them that they didn't need to fear. Everything would be okay.
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If God seems distant in your life right now, and during a time when you feel like falling apart, He not actually distant. He may just be reminding you that things aren't actually that bad.
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You need to grow through hard times, and God's rest about the situation should remind you that you can rest too!
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Faith does not fear, and it is calm. Jesus was able to rest and maintain a calm composure in the middle of even the most intimidating circumstances.
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If you want to be in faith, or at least grow to a point where you can be in faith, work on making a habit of being calm in your mind.
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Prayer and slowing your breath can help this.
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Remember that if even the wind and sea are submitted to the Lord, we have nothing to fear.