Taking Root

August 24, 2013

Taking Root

Matthew 13:1-9

New King James Version (NKJV)

The Parable of the Sower

13 On the same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the sea. 2 And great multitudes were gathered together to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.  3 Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying: “Behold, a sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them. 5 Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth. 6 But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away. 7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them. 8 But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9 He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”

Commentary:

The Word of God needs to be planted deep into our hearts so that when troubles come, we will stand firm.  Otherwise, we will fall away when we face trials and tribulation.  The Word of God is Jesus and Jesus is the solid rock, the sure foundation.  If we daily build on our relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ and spend time in His Word, we will grow, mature and take root in our faith.    

Our mind is like a garden.  If we don’t take care of it and cultivate it  properly, weeds will grow and take over.   If we don’t renew our minds with the Word of God daily, it will be filled with evil thoughts.  The Word of God is the seed.   Our mind is the soil.  We need to cultivate the soil by giving it water.  This means that we read the Word of God, meditate on it and ponder on it day and night.  This is how we cultivate the seed (the Word of God) that is planted into our  minds and hearts.  

The mind is the battlefield.   This is why God tells us to renew our minds daily with His Word.    This is why we need to meditate on the things of God.  Philippians 4:8 tells us:

8 Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.  (Phil 4:8, NKJV)

Feeding on the things of the world such as television, worldly magazines, secular music and ungodly conversations are detrimental to the mind.  You must protect your mind.

Your heart houses the Spirit which directs your mind to think on the things of God and thereby carry out godly actions accordingly.  The Word tells us in Luke 6:45b (NKJV)  “For out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.”  What feeds your heart is what you allow to come into your mind.  If you allow garbage to go into your mind, your heart will be filled with garbage.  If you allow the Word of God to go into your mind, your heart will be filled with Jesus.  Therefore, we are to renew our minds with the Word of God and guard our hearts always.  

The devil takes no vacation.  He will bombard your mind with all kinds of trash.  It is up to you to resist the devil.  James 4:7 tells us to “submit to God.  Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”   When your mind is totally filled with God, His word and the things of God, there is simply no room left for the devil to come in to fill your mind with trash because you are already FULL with God.  That’s why the idle mind is the devil’s workshop.  It is so because it is either empty or lacking focus on the things of God.  So the devil comes in like a roaring lion and he puts garbage in your mind.  If your mind is not filled with God, it will  have plenty of room to be filled with those evil things.  The mind cannot stay empty.  It will either think on the things of God or on the garbage sent by the devil through TV, worldly conversations, secular music and magazines.  

Here are some questions to ponder on --  

What do you think about all day long?

Is it Jesus?  The Word?

Or is it your job? your money or lack of it?

Your problems?

Your enemies at work?

Be careful what you allow to go into your mind.   Because eventually, you will act out what your mind dwells on.  Beware of false teachings.

You have heard preachers make the statement “once saved, always saved.”  Did you know that there is not one single verse in the Bible that supports that fallible statement?  Philippians 2:12 says,

12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling;  (Phil 2:12, NKJV)

We are to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling.  If once saved means always saved, then everyone can just say the sinner’s prayer today and live like the devil tomorrow and still be saved.  This is heresy.   Yes, we are saved by grace through faith.  

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. (Eph 2:8-9, NKJV)

But after we have received the free gift of salvation, we must work hard everyday to keep it.  We must do our due diligence daily and work it out with the Lord.  Confessing the Lord Jesus is only the beginning.  It does not stop there.  There are many people who think and believe that asking Jesus into their hearts is like getting a ticket to Heaven.  You do it once and then you are home free.  This is how the devil has deceived so many believers.  It sounds good.  It preaches well, but it is simply NOT THE TRUTH.  The truth is how you live after you are saved will determine if you go to Heaven or hell when you leave this earth.  This is what the Bible has to say about it.  

Romans 2:5-9  New King James Version (NKJV)

5 But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, 6 who“will render to each one according to his deeds”:[a] 7 eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality; 8 but to those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness—indignation and wrath,9 tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek;

Don’t be deceived, brothers and sisters.  God’s Word is truth.  You will be rewarded for your good deeds and punished for your evil deeds.  There is such a thing as falling out of grace.  If a person continues to sin and ignores the warning of the Holy Spirit, he can and will fall out of grace.  When that happens, there is no more sacrifice for his sin.  He has lost his salvation.    This  person is headed for hell.   Jesus had made Himself a sacrifice once and for all for humanity.  Shall we put Jesus back on the cross again?  Did He not suffer and die a horrible death?   

For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, 5 and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, 6 if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame. (Hebrews 6:4-6, NKJV)

What this is saying to the believer is that you will lose your salvation if you continue to live in sin and  refuse to repent.  Jesus already died for humanity, once and for all.  To continue to live in sin is to reject what Jesus did on the cross.  That means you have made your choice, the choice for hell.  Therefore, if you hear the Holy Spirit talking to you right now, repent from your sins and be saved.  And make sure you live every single moment for the Lord Jesus Christ for the rest of your life.  

17 For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God? 18 Now “If the righteous one is scarcely saved,  Where will the ungodly and the sinner appear?” 9 Therefore let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good, as to a faithful Creator. (1 Pet 4:17-19, NKJV)

We will all be judged one day by our works, whether good or  bad.  Don’t make the mistake of trading your eternal salvation for anything of this world.   Hold on to Jesus and never let go.  Be true to Him and serve Him with all of your heart, soul and might.   And when you have chosen to love the Lord Jesus with all your heart and live fully and completely for Him, you will spend eternity with God.  

6 And He said to me, “It is done![a] I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. 7 He who overcomes shall inherit all things,[b] and I will be his God and he shall be My son. 8 But the cowardly, unbelieving,[c] abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.  (Rev. 21:6-8)

How do we overcome satan, sin, the world and the flesh?  It is through the word of God.  We must continue to study and study and study the Word of God.   We must turn off the TV and open up the Bible and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to us the truth found in God’s word.  When we hold on to the Word of God which is the Lord Jesus Christ, we shall overcome.  

Conclusion:

Repent today of your sins. Cultivate the soil in your mind by dwelling on the things of God.  Love the Lord Jesus with all your heart, soul and might. Renew your mind with the Word of God daily.  Guard your heart.   Do good.  Shun evil.  Pray. Meditate on Scripture.  Live fully for Jesus.  Work out your salvation with fear and trembling.  Put Jesus first.  When you live like this, you will be rewarded with eternal life.   So let the Word of God take root.

Poem:

Did you know that the battlefield

is really in your mind?

And that satan, the enemy of your soul

is bombarding you all the time?

How does a believer win this war

to have peace of mind and rest

It is by submitting to God and resisting the devil,

for dwelling on the Lord Jesus Christ is best

So with each and every passing moment

that fills your busy day

Make sure that your mind is focused on

God’s word and what He says

For an idle mind is the enemy’s playground,

dwelling on worry and on strife

But a mind that is full of Jesus

leads to a happy, prosperous life

Byword:   The Word of God will keep you away from sin.  Sin will keep you away from the Word of God.  

Aldwin and Wendy Naruse

The Body of Christ Jesus Fellowship

Makaha, HI USA