Friday, April 8, 2011

Seeds.

So often do I come in contact with people who are just on the edge of the fence when it comes to their faith. Don't get me wrong, there have been times in my life that I have struggled in who I was, times where I have been weak, but nothing tugs at my heart more than a lukewarm Christian. When you have accepted Christ, and you have tasted the sweetness of His love and mercy, how on earth could you be lukewarm with that? With this verse, I challenge you to examine yourself. What kind of seed are you? I pray this verse will spark something in you to jump off that fence and run into the direction of your Heavenly Father, and come to the realization that your obedience and application of the Word of God is not to give you a set of rules to live by, but to give you life to the fullest. A victorious, meaningful life that brings glory to the Father. 

Luke 8: 5-8, 11-15: “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. Some fell on rocky ground, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants.  Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown." 


This parable that Jesus tells helps us to identify where we stand, and the obstacles that get in our way of teaching us the deep things of God. Before we highlight each seed, keep in mind that the seed is the word of God. Each of the places (or rather, people) hear the word of God, but only one produces a harvest.

  • The seed along the path.   "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." Luke 8:12.  Take notice that these people are the ones who hear the word of God, but are not saved. Once you are saved, the devil has no power or ability to take away the word of God from a believers heart, but when you are not a believer, he does have ability due to the choice of that person not to believe. It's kind of scary the image that Luke 8:5 gives with the birds coming and eating the seeds up. Satan is like a bird ready to devour anyone who hears the word yet does not believe or accept Christ. For those who hear the word and don't believe, their end result is to be devoured. Those are Satan's easiest victims. He desires to snatch the Word away before it can sink in and change lives.
  • The seed on the rock. "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" Luke 8:13. The seeds on the rocky ground don't just receive the word, but they receive it with joy! This kind of seed reminds me of almost a face-value relationship with the Father. They love to listen to the word and it sounds great when things are joyful and good, but they are in no way grounded in His word. Once things get sticky, or tough, they check out of the whole "Christian" thing. Hey, guess what? In the times you struggle, Gods glory and power will ALWAYS prevail! It is such a shame that these seeds stray away from God when times get hard, because those are the times God wants to use and show them that His word is true and that it works! He works! He is God! These seeds never get to see that, and they never get to see the faithfulness and power of God because they stop believing.    
  • The seed that fell among thorns. "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" Luke 8:14.  Distractions. Distractions are what get in the way of these seeds, and it's our biggest challenge. Pleasure, gratification, enjoyment are made the chief goal of life. This distracted hearer of God's word chokes on his own appetites! The things that they want become more important than a relationship with God, and they are CHOKED! Please be very careful with your appetites and distractions; you don't want your harvest to choke and die and never produce fruit. Having your focus on bringing glory to the Father is by far the best treasure you could ever receive. It would be a shame to let your own selfish desires and appetites get in the way of  your inheritance of the Kingdom, for those are only earthly things, yet the treasure God gives is eternal. "No human mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him" 1 Corinthians 2:9. 
  •  The seed on good soil. " 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" Luke 8:15. Hearers who don't just hear the word, but they retain it, persevere, and in result produce a crop. How do we retain the word? Well, retaining the word is by being in the word, chewing on its meaning, and letting it abide in your heart. Memorizing scriptures, giving God's word a place to dwell inside you. Once you internalize God's word, it, in result, will be externalized and you will be able to see it's works, His works. It will no longer be what we do, but it will be who we are. Remember though, its not always going to be easy, but when the word of God abides in us, we are able to persevere, and when we are able to see the plentiful and abundant harvest that the good soil brings forth, there is absolutely nothing else like it. "It yielded a crop a hundred times what was sown." God will bless you more than you could ever imagine when you retain His word.
Isaiah 55: 11
So is my word that goes out from my mouth:
   It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
   and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. 

God promises that His word will never return to us void. His word will give us the power to accomplish the things we most desire and His word will carry us to achieve the purpose for which He has sent us. The choice is up to us to decide whether or not we will hear His word, accept it, and allow it to dwell in us.  Isaiah reaped a hundred times what he had sown. God blessed him because he was obedient and pleasing to the Lord.

Now, which seed are you?


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