Post by Cindy on Nov 21, 2015 11:58:22 GMT -5
Before I was really saved, I considered myself a Christian. Even when I was involved in the new age and occult stuff, as hard as it is for me to even say much less admit now. Worse, at times I felt that God had let me down because I hadn't gotten something that I felt I needed or wanted, whether for myself or my family. I felt entitled to God's blessings, when in fact I not only didn't do His Will, I didn't even really know what it was! (and yes, all during those years, I went to church every single Sunday with my children) I had read the Bible when I was a child and thought I "knew" it because I remembered what I'd read and of course heard the pastor every Sunday. I was very, very lost and didn't even know it. I'm horrified now to think of how arrogant I used to be assuming that God "owed" me anything at all! I'm so very thankful too that God opened my eyes and my heart so that I could finally please Him. But I worry about all the people who are going about their lives today, just as I did for so many years, ignorant to what the Lord has for them and what He requires from them, showing one of the first three responses to the Word in the parable of the sower. Regardless of what they think, they can't really do God's Will, and often don't even know what it really is because they don't study His Word daily with Him.
If you recall, just before the parable of the sower, Jesus tells us this: “Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.”” (Mark 3:35) We like to think we're Christians, at least most people who call themselves Christians do. Yet are we really???? Are we really doing His Will? Do we know His Will in order that we can do it? And if we don't, then can we sincerely call ourselves a Christian? How have we really responded to His Word?
I actually already shared a little about the parable of the sower in What Kind of Heart do You Have? Although much more could be said about it, I'd rather focus on the last thing Jesus said about it today. At the end of it, He speaks of those who truly belong to Him. He says: “Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—thirty, sixty or even a hundred times what was sown.”” (Mark 4:20) Notice that no one who truly belongs to Him produces "no crop" or even a very small crop. MacArthur points out: An average ratio of harvested grain to what had been sown was 8 to 1, with a 10 to 1 ratio considered exceptional. The yields Jesus refers to are like an unbelievable harvest. The MacArthur study Bible So it's obvious that this is something no one could possibly accomplish in their own strength, or even hope to do. Often when we read this about producing a crop, we start thinking of the things we've "done" to try and see if we've done nearly enough. You know, like being part of various ministries at our church or helping out with feeding the poor or things like that. Yet what this parable was talking about was spreading the Word of God and how people respond to it. If we don't know His Word, we can't very well spread it, much less live it. Oh, we can do whatever we've heard preachers tell us, but how do we know they're right or telling us the truth? Many aren't right and many outright lie today. We can't know unless we know His Word for ourselves and have been taught not just by pastors and teachers, but by The Teacher: The Holy Spirit!
No matter how well we can talk like other Christians, how often we go to church, or how many "experiences" we've had, God knows our hearts and He knows who is obeying Him and is in His Word daily, and who isn't. He knows who and what we have put before Him and His Word each day, and why. Hearing someone preach about the word is NOT the same as reading it ourselves and being guided and taught the truth by the Spirit. He gives us human teachers and pastors to help us, but He does not give them to us to replace our own time with Him in His Word. Spending time with Him in His Word each day is absolutely vital for it's His Word which changes us and makes us more like Jesus and brings about that crop of 30, 60, or even a hundred fold.
“If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.”” (Mark 4:23)
“Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.”” (Mark 4:25)
If you recall, just before the parable of the sower, Jesus tells us this: “Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.”” (Mark 3:35) We like to think we're Christians, at least most people who call themselves Christians do. Yet are we really???? Are we really doing His Will? Do we know His Will in order that we can do it? And if we don't, then can we sincerely call ourselves a Christian? How have we really responded to His Word?
I actually already shared a little about the parable of the sower in What Kind of Heart do You Have? Although much more could be said about it, I'd rather focus on the last thing Jesus said about it today. At the end of it, He speaks of those who truly belong to Him. He says: “Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—thirty, sixty or even a hundred times what was sown.”” (Mark 4:20) Notice that no one who truly belongs to Him produces "no crop" or even a very small crop. MacArthur points out: An average ratio of harvested grain to what had been sown was 8 to 1, with a 10 to 1 ratio considered exceptional. The yields Jesus refers to are like an unbelievable harvest. The MacArthur study Bible So it's obvious that this is something no one could possibly accomplish in their own strength, or even hope to do. Often when we read this about producing a crop, we start thinking of the things we've "done" to try and see if we've done nearly enough. You know, like being part of various ministries at our church or helping out with feeding the poor or things like that. Yet what this parable was talking about was spreading the Word of God and how people respond to it. If we don't know His Word, we can't very well spread it, much less live it. Oh, we can do whatever we've heard preachers tell us, but how do we know they're right or telling us the truth? Many aren't right and many outright lie today. We can't know unless we know His Word for ourselves and have been taught not just by pastors and teachers, but by The Teacher: The Holy Spirit!
No matter how well we can talk like other Christians, how often we go to church, or how many "experiences" we've had, God knows our hearts and He knows who is obeying Him and is in His Word daily, and who isn't. He knows who and what we have put before Him and His Word each day, and why. Hearing someone preach about the word is NOT the same as reading it ourselves and being guided and taught the truth by the Spirit. He gives us human teachers and pastors to help us, but He does not give them to us to replace our own time with Him in His Word. Spending time with Him in His Word each day is absolutely vital for it's His Word which changes us and makes us more like Jesus and brings about that crop of 30, 60, or even a hundred fold.
“If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.”” (Mark 4:23)
“Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.”” (Mark 4:25)
!!
