Greetings in the Name of Jesus and welcome to the PLN Sunday Night Bible Fellowship!
Thanks for joining us tonight as we continue our series on the biblical principle that the Word of God is THE main SOURCE OF POWER for successful Christian living. Another way to make this point is that the WORD has within itself the POWER to change circumstances in our lives, ALWAYS for the better. All we have to do is read it and meditate on it until we come to UNDERSTAND it principle-by-principle and precept-by-precept. As we come to UNDERSTAND the Word we'll see our circumstances improve, "we know not how, it just happens" (Mark 4:27).
By way of review keep in mind that the Bible shows us that the Word of God is supernatural SEED that will always produce FRUIT when it's SOWED into good SOIL. Someone at some time had to sow that SEED into each Believer so we could all be born again (1 Peter 1:23) and after that the SOWER has continued to sow His SEED so that our faith can grow (Romans 10:17) and so we can be transformed by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:2) into the very image of Christ (Romans 8:29). This means then that the MIND of the Believer is the SOIL that's designed to receive the SEED and either our minds receive and use it for growth and transformation or they fail to receive it and lose that opportunity to produce FRUIT.
In previous articles I've referred to two particular parables that I've recommended for your in-depth review as part of a SPECIAL objective for the New Year to make the Word of God your first and highest priority:
Parable of the Sower and Soils = Mark 4:3-25 and Matthew 13:3-23
Parable of the Seed = Mark 4:26-29
Keep in mind that the first of these Parables identifies four types of SOIL, four different SOIL conditions that the Word-SEED can possibly encounter. According to His own words, Jesus SAID that three of the four are incapable of producing FRUIT. Here are the four types of SOIL, the four conditions of the MIND that the SEED always has to deal with:
1. Packed down soil by the side of the road that's been so hardened the SEED can't penetrate it and the enemy comes and steals that SEED away.
2. Shallow soil that's over a rocky base and the SEED can't grow down far enough to develop a healthy root system so the plants soon die.
3. Soil that's full of thorns and the SEED is choked out by those thorns so it can't grow and produce a viable crop for harvesting.
4. Good soil with which the SEED is able to produce a healthy crop that multiplies the SEED by thirty, sixty and a hundredfold.
The Challenge of Packed Down Soil
In this article we want to focus on the first of these soil types: the type that Jesus said is so packed down the SEED can't penetrate it. We're building on our discussion from last week where we saw that we have to PROTECT the Word we receive so that Satan can't steal it. It might be helpful to look back at last week's report for a list of suggestions for PROTECTING your SEED. But for THIS week as we look more deeply into this subject, there are a couple of initial questions we need answers to before we can move on comfortably:
* What does it mean in natural terms when the enemy steals our SEED? It means that when we HEAR the Word we promptly FORGET what we heard and fail to apply it in our lives. Satan then has stolen it away before it can take root in our MINDS (the SOIL) and what we fail to apply we will have to hear again and again until we finally UNDERSTAND it and are able to start living by the principles those lost SEEDS were trying to teach us.
* How is it possible the enemy can so easily steal something that's so important? The truth is we'll do whatever's necessary to PROTECT something if we deem it to be valuable. So apparently a lot of us are undervaluing the SEED we're receiving because Satan is a defeated enemy who lost his power and authority at the Cross and we should be able to easily PROTECT our valuables. All we have to do is make a reasonable effort to resist him (James 4:7) but it's easy to see that around the Body of Christ it's not happening that way.
The Causes of Packed Down Soil
Friend, we need to find out how it is that our MINDS can be like packed down SOIL so we can do something about it. I don't know about you but I'm tired of losing my SEED because I need it to be victorious in my life, and so do you. It starts by accepting the fact that God working through His Word is the source of ALL real VICTORY in life and when we finally come to that realization, the SEED takes on VALUE we didn't see before. The SEED has to be valuable to us so we'll PROTECT it and grow from it. If today you can see that the SEED you've been exposed to in the past hasn't been as valuable to you as it should've been, just ask God to help you change your way of thinking and He WILL do what you ask. Indeed, part of that change will come almost immediately even today just by comprehending the issues we're discussing here that work together to harden our MINDS and cause them to be so much like packed down soil.
Matthew's account of this Parable helps our comprehension by explaining in Chapter 13 and verse 19 that if we don't UNDERSTAND the Word we hear, the enemy will come and steal away what's been SOWN in our "hearts." Study this a little more deeply and you'll find that the Greek word translated HEART in this scripture means MIND or THINKING so don't confuse it with the SPIRIT-man part of you where the SEED in its totality has already been fully and completely planted and received. So, when we hear the Word preached, we have a responsibility to remain alert and do our best to UNDERSTAND what we're hearing because what we don't UNDERSTAND we'll lose. Note: UNDERSTANDING is OUR responsibility. We need to write down the highlights of what we hear and then go home and look up the scriptures for ourselves MEDITATING on them until the Holy Spirit has completed the planting process and the SEED can take root. If it's valuable enough to us, we WILL do what we have to and take the time to PROTECT it
Now another part of comprehending can be found In Matthew 13:15 where Jesus quoting Isaiah 6:9 said that when our heart (mind, thinking) becomes DULL to the things of God, we'll not be able to perceive or hear or see the Word. In other places the Bible uses the term HARDENED or HARDNESS OF HEART instead of the word DULL. For example, in Mark 6:52 and 8:17 the Bible describes the disciples of Jesus as having HARDENED HEARTS because they had seen His miracles, and particularly the two miracles of feeding the multitudes, but those experiences had not translated into them as FAITH. The enemy had stolen their SEED and Jesus Himself said in Matthew 8:17-21 (in red letters) that His own disciples lacked spiritual perception as confirmed by their HARDENED HEARTS and lack of UNDERSTANDING. Friend, if Jesus' own hand-picked special guys had HARDNED HEARTS, is it possible that some of us do too? Is this not perhaps a big reason why so many of us fail to UNDERSTAND the Word when we hear it and wind up losing it?
Where does a HARDENED HEART come from? We can find that answer in Hebrews 3:7-19 which you should read for yourselves but for now can be summarized as follows:
* A hardened mind comes from INGRATITUDE as were the Israelites when they constantly grumbled and complained during their time in the wilderness. Start thanking God for everything you can think of that's good in your life. Eventually any ingratitude will flee along with your resentments for the things that haven't happened yet.
* A hardened mind comes from routine unbelief which is the way most of us were before we were born again. Also many of us even after many years of being born again receive the SEED with unbelief when it fails to match up to our religious and/or cultural traditions (read Mark 7:13 for yourself) or contradicts what our Flesh wants to do.
* A hardened mind comes from the deceitfulness of sin and all of us were under the control of sin before we were born again (Romans 6:17). The Flesh still is under that control and our SOULS are in a process of transformation from Flesh control to Spirit control. Prolonged involvement in a sinful lifestyle will lead to a hardened mind.
* A hardened mind comes from disobedience which either springs from unbelief or rebellion or both. The Israelites were like this in the wilderness and wanted to go back to Egypt (Acts 7:36-39). If you hear the SEED preached but routinely go ahead and let the Flesh lead you to do something different, your mind will become hardened.
All of us have to defeat all of these areas to avoid having a hardened MIND that's incapable of REMEMBERING what the SEED is trying to teach. According to Jesus that's what happened to the disciples (Mark 8:18). They had seen Him feed two multitudes numbering in the thousands with just a few loaves and fishes yet just a few hours later they were concerned about how they were going to get food for themselves. The Holy Spirit changed the disciples into Apostles on the Day of Pentecost (Acts, Chapter 2) and the Holy Spirit wants to do the same for us. He's available and He's motivated but we have to value His SEED and do our job of resisting the enemy. Once we do, we're guaranteed to start moving consistently toward the fourth soil condition and the abundant life Jesus came to give us (John 10:10).
Thanks for stopping by tonight. We'll be looking for you again NEXT Sunday night on January 18. In the meantime may the Lord bless you with every spiritual blessing (Ephesians 1:3), compelling you to PROSPER in every area of life!
Sinners' Prayer
If you've never invited Jesus to be the Lord of your life, you need to and you can do it today just by saying out loud the following simple prayer:
Jesus I declare today with all my heart that I believe in you and that God raised you from the dead. I acknowledge that my sins have been forgiven and I ask you to come into my life today and be my Lord and Savior. Thank you for salvation and eternal life.
If you were sincere as you prayed this prayer, God has already come into your life and you are a new creation, a totally new species recreated in His image. Now ask the Lord to lead you to a good faith-based, bible-teaching church where you can be equipped to fulfill your potential in the Kingdom of God.
And, when you get a chance have someone help you look up the following scriptures because they confirm what you've done by saying this prayer today and believing what you said:
Romans 10:9
2 Corinthians 5:17
Ephesians 2:8
Prayer Requests
If you have a Prayer Request, please connect to the Link below and follow the promptings. The PLN staff members pray over Prayer Requests every Tuesday morning at 10:00 AM eastern time. Agree with us for God to answer your petition.
http://www.creditcounseling.net/prayer-request.aspx
Donations
If you've been edified by Prosperous Life Newsletter, you may want to consider making a SEED FAITH offering to support the Ministry (Galatians 6:6-7). God has instructed us to simply provide folks with an opportunity to sow seed into good ground so in due season you'll be eligible to reap a harvest and the rest is up to you as the Spirit leads. For your information PLN is a nonprofit gift to the Body of Christ so your financial offerings will usually be tax deductible (consult your tax advisor). Just go to the secure Shopping Cart on the Cornerstone web site by connecting through the following link. We appreciate your support and generosity.
http://www.creditcounseling.net/shop/item.aspx?itemid=1
About Prosperous Life Newsletter
PLN is an outreach ministry of Make A Way Ministries and has been published continuously since January 1998. It's an e-publication about life in the Kingdom of God and is sent ONLY to our email list of MINISTRY MEMBERS. If you're reading this and aren't yet on our growing email list, please let us know and we'll be so very happy to add you to the list.
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