Friday, May 18, 2012,
8:42 a.m. – After I awoke this morning, the Lord put the song “I’m Not Ashamed” in my mind. Speak,
Lord, for your servant is listening. I read Matthew 12-13, and sensed that I was to focus this morning on chapter 13:1-23 (NIV 1984):
That same day Jesus went
out of the house and sat by the lake. Such large crowds gathered around him
that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore.
Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow
his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the
birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much
soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came
up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other
seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed
fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times
what was sown. He who has ears, let him hear.”
The disciples came to
him and asked, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?”
He replied, “The
knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but
not to them. Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance.
Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. This is why I
speak to them in parables:
“Though seeing, they
do not see;
though hearing, they do not hear or
understand.
In them is fulfilled
the prophecy of Isaiah:
“‘You will be ever
hearing but never understanding;
you will be ever seeing but never
perceiving.
For this people’s
heart has become calloused;
they hardly hear with their ears,
and they have closed their eyes.
Otherwise they might
see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their hearts
and turn, and I would
heal them.’
But blessed are your
eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. For I tell you the
truth, many prophets and righteous men longed to see what you see but did not
see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.
“Listen then to what
the parable of the sower means: When anyone hears the message about the kingdom
and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown
in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path. The one who received the
seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once
receives it with joy. But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time.
When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away.
The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears
the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke
it, making it unfruitful. But the one who received the seed that fell on good
soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding
a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”
My Understanding: Jesus
often taught in parables. Parable – “a short simple story intended to
illustrate a moral or religious lesson”; synonym: allegory – “a work in which
the characters and events are to be understood as representing other things and
symbolically expressing a deeper, often spiritual, moral, or political meaning”
(Encarta).
The disciples asked Jesus why he spoke in parables. Jesus
explained that it was because only those with eyes to see and ears to hear
could understand what Jesus was saying (teaching), i.e. only those willing and
receptive would be given spiritual understanding. Hearing Jesus teach in
parables required the listener to either ignore the teaching, i.e. to refuse to
hear, to see and/or to understand, and to harden his or her heart to the truth,
or else it required time spent with Jesus at his feet, listening to his words,
asking for understanding, patiently waiting on God to answer, seeking God’s
face in prayer, repenting of sin, obeying Christ’s commands and in the process
growing closer to Christ.
Here Jesus told the parable of the sower. The sower scattered
the seed, and it fell on various types of soil. The sower is ultimately God,
yet we also, as Christ’s representatives, are to be sowers in scattering the
seed of the gospel of Jesus Christ; the message about the kingdom of heaven (Matt
13:19; 1 Co. 9:11; 2 Co. 9:6, 10; 1 Jn. 3:9). As we scatter the seed of the
gospel of Jesus Christ, we will, as well, encounter varied types of soil, i.e.
varied types of responses to the gospel message. The soil, thus, represents
people’s hearts.
First heart response
Some seed “fell along
the path, and the birds came and ate it up.” The respondent heard the
message of the kingdom of heaven (the gospel), but did not understand it. So,
the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in the person’s heart. I
have watched this happen before. I have seen people begin to respond to the
gospel message only to have the truth snatched right away from them. Yet,
although it was Satan who snatched the truth from the person’s heart, the
problem did not originate with Satan. He was merely taking advantage of an
opportunity already presented to him by the heart response of the individual
who heard the truth, but then closed his or her eyes and ears to the message. “Though seeing, they do not see; though
hearing, they do not hear or understand.”
Second heart response
Some seed “fell on
rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because
the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and
they withered because they had no root.” “The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who
hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since he has no root, he
lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word,
he quickly falls away.”
The soil (heart) was shallow. Shallow means “of little
depth,” and this case it refers to the person’s character, i.e. the person is
superficial, insincere, artificial, phony, and his or her reception to the
gospel was in appearance only, perhaps. The soil was also rocky, i.e. it was
shaky, unsteady, unsound, unstable, uncertain, and wavering. In other words,
the gospel never really took root in the person’s heart, because his acceptance
of the truth was superficial.
I believe this is prevalent today with the insurgence of “gospel-lite”
being preached from so many pulpits in today’s church. They are trying to make
the gospel palatable to all who hear it so that they will be “saved.” Yet, they
water it down to where it is no gospel at all. They tell their listeners that
they don’t have to repent of their sins or obey Christ, and they give them a
false notion that God is pleased with them no matter what they do. It sounds
good, and it doesn’t cost them anything, and so they jump on board, but the
real truth of the gospel never takes root in their hearts, and so when trouble
or persecution comes, they quickly fall away, because the “gospel-lite” did not
prepare them for that.
Third heart response
“Other seed fell among
thorns, which grew up and choked the plants.” “The one who received the seed
that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of
this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful.”
Remember here that the soil represents the person’s heart
response to the gospel. This person had a “thorny” heart, i.e. his or her heart
was tough, hard, difficult, perhaps fighting back God’s truths from truly
taking root in his heart by being controversial, thick-headed, or by insulting
the spirit of grace by deliberately continuing in sin (see Heb. 10:26-31). This
person is more concerned with the things of this life in this world than with
spiritual matters and eternal values. He or she probably fights off the
conviction of the Holy Spirit and is determined to continue on his own path.
Since his or her trust is in the things of this life, and not in the Lord, then
eventually the cares of this world choke out what truth had begun to work its
way into the person’s heart. The individual then was unfruitful.
What is Fruit?
Fruit - “the product
or consequence of something done” (Encarta); yield; outgrowth; result; reward;
fruition; outcome. “Produce fruit in keeping with repentance” – turning from
sin (Lk. 3:8a). “Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear
fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless
you remain in me” (Jn. 15:4). “This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much
fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples” (Jn. 15:8). “For when we were
controlled by the sinful nature, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at
work in our bodies, so that we bore fruit for death” (Ro. 7:5). “But the fruit
of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness
and self-control. Against such things there is no law” (Gal. 5:22-23).
“For you were once
darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the
fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find
out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of
darkness, but rather expose them” (Eph. 5:8-11). “All over the world this
gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since
the day you heard it and understood God’s grace in all its truth” (Col. 1:6b). “And
we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may
please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the
knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious
might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving
thanks to the Father…” (Col. 1:10-12a).
If someone is unfruitful, he or she is not repentant, he
does not remain in Christ for he follows still the ways of this world, he is
not truly a disciple of Christ, he is still controlled by the sinful nature, he
is still walking in darkness, he is not living a life pleasing to God, he is
not a participant in the scattering of the seed of the true gospel of Jesus
Christ, and he is not growing in Christ - not being strengthened with the power
of the Holy Spirit within him, so that means he is not truly a follower of
Christ and he and soils 1 and 2 are also not truly saved, and are not disciples
of Christ.
Fourth heart response
Only one soil represents the truly saved, and true followers
of Jesus Christ who have ears to hear, and eyes to see, and so have turned
(repented) and have been healed spiritually (saved from their sins and have the
promise and hope of eternity in heaven with God). They are not only saved from their
sins, but they produce a crop, yielding far more than what was sown. In other
words, these are people who do not hide their light under a bushel, but who
share the gospel with others by life example, in testimony of their own
salvation, and in deliberately giving out the good news to others so that they,
too, can be saved from their sins. May we be the kind of soil that hears the
word, believes it, puts it into practice in our daily lives, bears spiritual
fruit, and that shares the gospel of Jesus Christ with others so that they,
too, can come to know Christ as Lord and Savior.
I’m Not Ashamed /
An Original Work / February 15, 2012
Based off Matt. 28:19-20; Acts 1:8; Rom. 1:16-17
Go into all the world,
And tell them the Good
News,
Making disciples of
all the nations,
Baptizing them in the
name of the Father
And of the Holy Spirit,
And of the Son,
Teaching them to obey
Ev’rything I have
commanded you,
And surely I am with
you,
E’en to the end of the
age.
You will receive power
When the Holy Spirit
Comes on you;
My witnesses you will
be
In Samaria, Judea, and
Jerusalem,
And to the ends of the
earth, amen!
You will receive power
When the Holy Spirit
comes on you,
My witnesses you will
be
Unto the ends of the
earth.
I’m not ashamed of the
Gospel of my Jesus.
For salvation, it’s
the power of God.
For in the gospel a righteousness
From God is made
known,
A righteousness that
is by faith.
I’m not ashamed of the
Gospel of my Jesus.
For salvation, it’s
the power of God.
The righteous will
live by faith.
No comments:
Post a Comment