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Today we are in the book He Called.
I've been skipping around some. We are on Day 15 now, page 96 in the
paperback. This is the Parable of the Sower. And I know that probably
many of us have read this before. It is Mark 3:4-9. I want us to
think of the parable in maybe a bit of a different way in how we have
thought of it before. Let's think of this parable as a spiritual
assessment for ourselves. And everyday, when we wake up – or when
we go to bed – let's think about, what part of the field were we in
that day? And what are we going to do the next day, or in the morning
– throughout the day – to stay in the best part of the field?
So to explain the parable: Jesus was
talking about spiritual growth in God's kingdom on earth. And he
compared it to a sower, and the sower is the person who is spreading
the word of God, the person who is teaching the Bible, the person who
is spreading the word that God is near, and He's available, and is
sharing the gospel.
So the sower spreads the seed, and some
of the seed falls on the side of the road. And there's these birds!
And these birds gobble up that seed before it can ever take root. And
in our lives, those birds are if you are putting yourself into some
kind of culture, or if you are surrounding yourself with people who
are denying the Lord or who are, in anyway, making you uncomfortable
in your faith – I think that you could say that you are letting
yourself – being bait for the birds. Don't let yourself be bait for
the birds! So, on the side of the road – are we there? Are we
starting to completely leave the Lord? Hopefully there is not many of
us there, but if you are, you can very easily move back over.
The next one is the rocky soil. Are we
in rocky soil today? What happens is, when the seed is in rocky soil
– or maybe the wind blows it over into the rocky soil, maybe after
it had been in good soil for a short time – what happens then is –
we are growing just a little bit, but it's not really having any
effect. And the first time we get too busy or something hard gets in
the way – we just die (spiritually).
Then, the next area that the seed falls
in, is the thorny soil. And the truth is that many of us spend many
of our days in the thorny soil. And the thorny soil is when you have
accepted Jesus, you are following him, but you have days when the
thorns, the distractions of the world, the distractions at work, the
difficulties, the anxieties, things you are dealing with – those
things should be propelling you closer to the Lord – those
problems, those thorns. Remember when you are having problems, what
do you do? How do you solve them? Always do something that is going
to bring you closer to God. Ask yourself, “Is the way I am dealing
with these thorns – is my thorn management – is it something that
is bringing me closer to the Lord, or is it taking me further away?”
Because if you are letting it take you further away, if the choices
you are making – if the method you are using to deal with your
thorns is taking you further away from God, those thorns are going to
take you down.
So ask yourself, where am I? Am I
dealing with thorns? Am I letting thorns get in the way?
And then the last area that the seed
falls on is the good soil. And when you are in the good soil and
remain in the good soil, you produce a crop of 30, 60, 100 times what
you ever would have done had you spent too much time in that thorny
soil. And notice the difference – those over there flirting with
the birds, they aren't producing anything for the kingdom of God.
Those in the rocks, they aren't producing anything. Those in the
thorns, now they are producing some, producing some fruit. But if you
stay in the good soil, you deal with those thorns – by coming
closer to God when you have thorns, rather than letting those thorns
distract you. And then, you stay in that good soil – that good soil
where you are walking with God, you are thinking about Him, you are
carrying Him in your mind throughout the day. You are staying close
to Him. If you need to, you are using strategies to keep Him in your
mind – whether it be signs posted throughout your house; or
visualizing that He is there with you throughout the day, or setting
a timer so that you can stop and reflect and be thankful for him
throughout the day. You are in that good soil, and your fruit is
going to be 30 times, and then 60 times, and then 100 times! It just
multiplies, and multiplies, and multiplies.
And what is this harvest? What is this
fruit? We know the fruit of the spirit. It is love, joy, peace,
patience, kindness, gentleness, long-suffering, and self control.
That's the fruit. So, at the end of the day or in the morning – use
this as a spiritual test – oh I don't like the word 'test' – use
it as a spiritual assessment. And don't use it to beat yourself up.
“Oh I spent too much time with thorns today.” Just ask God for
forgiveness and move back over into that good soil. And let me tell
you something. If you're not feeling love, joy, peace, patience,
kindness, gentleness, or self-control – if you are lacking one of
those, or if you are struggling in one of those areas – I bet it's
because you are dealing with your thorns in the wrong way! And those
thorns are latching in and not allowing you to experience – not
just the love, joy and peace – but experiencing it growing, and
bouying, a hundredfold, and increasing, so it just starts to flow
over – and you are changed.
So that is the parable of the sower.
Stay in that good soil, every day, Wake up and say, “What am I
going to do when my thorn comes up today? Because you know what your
thorns are. You know what your thorns are. Get your garden plan.
Assess each morning. Stick with it. Produce that crop, that
increasing, increasing crop. I'll tell you what – once you've spent
some time in that good soil, and you start [knowing the increasing
good things the Spirit gives,] you will never want to go back to the
thorns, ever again. Never again. Who wants to live in thorns?!
All right – have a good day, have a
good evening, have a good weekend. Bye.
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