PROFITTING MORE FROM GODS WORD The Parable of the Sower is maybe, the most popular one to any New Testament reader or listener to the word of God because it is the first Jesus told. However popular or familiar it may be, it remains one the most fundamental parables that once we do not grasp its meaning, we will always have problem with our Christian life. The reason is simple, you cannot prosper in your Christian journey beyond what you do with God’s word. What were the challenges to God’s word as a seed sown in this parable and what challenges are we also confronting as we deal with his word in our generation. The first challenge is UNDERSTANDING. “When any one hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in his heart; this is what was sown along the path” (Matt 13:19). Something needs to happen with the way we understand the word of God. Our heart is the issue as Jesus intended in this parable. How tuned is our heart to understand. And it starts from LISTENING. What kind of hear do we have? I challenge is to retrain our ears to hear and our hearts to receive SPIRITUAL ILLUMINATION when we hear the word of God. It’s a prayer you must pray and a discipline you must cultivate by being attentive and spiritually sensitive whenever God’s word is read or spoken. The second challenge is LACK OF ROOT. “As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away” (20-21). The problem here is NOT that the word does not have root. It is that the MAN HAS NO ROOT IN HIMSELF. He himself is unstable and has not cultivated a deep relationship with God. His heart is still rocky. Yes he receives the word with joy may be because he was excited at that moment or he was promised something ephemeral. That was where it ended. As soon as trials and tribulations come to TEST the word, he gave way! So, check your ROOT, that is what the word will anchor on in your heart. The third challenge is the CARES OF THE WORLD AND CHALLENGE OF RICHES. “As for what was sown among thorns, this is he who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the delight in riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.” The love of money remains the root of all evil. Once your priority in life is to MAKE IT BY ALL MEANS, the word will not profit you. Reason: you will have to jettison it several times to cut corners and to make more money. You will have to silence the word in your heart and your conscience to make several decisions that will bring you money in ungodly ways. The last challenge is THE AMOUNT OF FRUIT. “As for what was sown on good soil, this is he who hears the word and understands it; he indeed bears fruit, and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty. Some us are making good use of the Word because we have prepared our hearts. We hear, understand and ACT and therefore, produce fruit. But why 30 if we can produce 60? Why 60 if we can produce 100 fold? It is time to jack up our productivity. We have great potential in God. It is time to use it. I challenge you to sit down and do some stock taking. Why is the word not producing fruit in my life and if it is producing, why am I not producing the MAXIMUM? You can be a better Christian than you have ever been!
Posted on: Fri, 17 Oct 2014 06:47:24 +0000
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