Matthew 13:20, 21, 23 But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it; Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended. But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.

The seed here is the Good News, the Gospel, and is planted. As we all should know, you cannot grow things on stony ground. It must be broken down into good soil to take root and grow. This gets us back once again to the work of the Holy Spirit breaking the hearts of the lost and preparing them to receive the Word.

Psalm 51:17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.

If at this moment, having come only this far, you decide you are ready to be saved, STOP. You are not ready yet to be saved. Look closely to Matthew 13:23 where is says that the word must be received with understanding. We have only just begun to lay down some of the foundational truths. God wants you to understand what you are getting yourself into if you should choose this life of Christ.

How many failed marriages occur simply because one or both parts just want to be satisfied and they do not fully know and understand the other party? Many I would venture, but even if the marriage doesn’t end in divorce, one or both parties are miserable. God does not want an unwilling, unhappy marriage partner for His Son Jesus Christ. He would not allow you to enter into this marriage contract ignorant of what to expect.

John 6:51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.

Here is the difference between belief and faith.

Jesus is the bread of life and I believe in Jesus. See, here, I can show you, He is right here in my lunch box. I can take the bread and prove to you I have it. See this is my belief.

Jesus is the bread of life and I have faith in Christ. I ate the bread. He nourishes my soul. I am alive because I ate.

John 6:52 The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat?

If you are having a hard time understanding how faith can do this, you are not alone. Many struggle with this very thing. On this issue I must confess I did not understand at first how faith eats because my focus was on eating with my mouth.

Romans 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

Here once again the word believe is used as faith. Faith consumes the bread of life with the heart. If you take what Jesus said in John 6 and translate it into what Paul is saying in Romans 10 then it would sound like this; I confess I ate the bread of life for I have taken it to heart.

Belief is a mental condition, faith is a spiritual yearning of the heart, a longing for God.

Ezekiel 11:19 And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh: