I have discussed this subject in previous blog entries about staying in the Word of God. However, the Holy Spirit really zeroed in on one particular aspect of this subject today in my study when Jesus taught the very familar parable about the sower and the seed. Let's read there now in Luke:
Luke 8:5-15 NIV
[5] “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds ate it up. [6] Some fell on rocky ground, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture. [7] Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants. [8] Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown.” When he said this, he called out, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”
[9] His disciples asked him what this parable meant. [10] He said, “The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to others I speak in parables, so that, “ ‘though seeing, they may not see; though hearing, they may not understand.’
[11] “This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God. [12] Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. [13] Those on the rocky ground are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away. [14] The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature. [15] But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.
As Jesus explained what the parable meant to the apostles, the Holy Spirit showed me some really cool things.
First of all, the seed is the Word of God, the Bible. God is the Sower.
Now, if you're not a Christian yet, then you can be like the one on the path where the seed was scattered. You have to be aware that whatever Word of God your hear, it can be snatched away from you by the devil, rendering it useless. So be careful that that doesn't happen to you. Write it down, remember it, cling to it. Do not let it get away from you because "faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God." You will be saved by hearing and then believing in what you have heard. So don't let the devil snatch it out of your mind.
Now as Christians, first things first. We have to allow God to sow the "seed," the Word of God into our lives. How so? By making it a part of our everyday lives at some point throughout each day.
Why? Because Jesus said that man cannot live on bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.
Matthew 4:4 NIV
[4] Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
He meant that you cannot be complete by just feeding your physical body. You have to feed your spirit also by the Word of God. This will strengthen us in our spirits as we renew our minds to God's Word everyday. So first things first, we have to make the Bible a part of our everyday lives, because that's how we feed our spirit.
Now, having said that, we can return to this parable.
Now, real quick, don't be a person on the rocky path. These people hear the Word and receive it with joy, but "they have no root." The Word doesn't take root and grow in their spirit. So, they believe for awhile, but when hardship comes, when trials, temptations, and testing comes they fall away from God. Don't be that person.
Next is the biggest thing the Holy Spirit revealed to me today, which is within the seed that was scattered among the thorns. Jesus said, "[14] The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature."
These folks get distracted by everything around them. So, they don't grow in the Spirit, don't mature as Christians. Something other than the Word is always grabbing their attention, so, that's what they focus on. So, the Word doesn't have a chance to get down in their hearts and minds. It doesn't have the chance to transform their hearts and minds, so they stay the same. They never mature. The Word never produces a "harvest," in their lives.
What's the main point? God uses His Word to change your inner being. He uses the Word to make you more and more like Jesus, as the Holy Spirit, inside us, teaches us all things. He can't change you from the inside out if you never open the Bible or if you are constantly distracted by everything around you.
Okay, so, why be more like Jesus? Because we, the Church, now represent Jesus Christ on the Earth. He uses the Church to save people who don't believe yet. We work with the Spirit of God to do God's will on the Earth. His will is that everyone would believe and be saved. So, that's the main purpose of the Church. We live so others can be saved too.
So, the main take away is to fit the Word of God into your life, into your schedule everyday. Read, digest, and meditate on the Word of God as much as you can. Fit it into your life. Apply it to your life. Don't be easily distracted by everything in the world. Then God will transform your inner being, and will produce a "harvest" of good fruit within you, by the Holy Spirit, so that others can be saved too!!
You might ask, "Where should I start?"
In my opinion, it's good to start with the 4 books of the gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John in the New Testament). Start with Jesus and His life and teachings as He is the foundation from which everything is built on. So start there and then continue on in the New Testament.
Please share with others.
Love you all,
Jeffrey Post
No comments:
Post a Comment