THE WORD FOR TODAY

A TALE OF FOUR GROUNDS (Part 4)

 “Listen! A farmer went out to plant his seed.” Mark 4:3 (easy-to-read).

Today, we’ll conclude our study of the Four Grounds in Jesus’ The Parable of the Sower.

“And he spoke many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow...

But others fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some a hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.

Who has ears to hear, let him hear.” - Matthew 13:3-89

Ground 4 – It’s All In The Heart

Finally we meet them at last, the elite group; the special group of hearts that didn’t just receive the word but kept it up to fruition.

I’ve always wondered about this group even as a child when I first heard the story in Sunday School. How are they different? They must really have something special about them. But when I grew up and studied Our Lord’s words myself, I saw that the secret to their success was not that complicated.

Let’s look at the 3 factors of being a “good ground” from the 3 synoptic gospels:

Factor 1: UNDERSTANDING

But he that received seed into the good ground is he that hears the word, and understands it, (Mt 13: 23)

Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understands, (Pr 4:7).

When we receive the word, we need to take time to know and comprehend that word: meditate over it, weigh the implications, etc.

In 1 chronicle 17 after God gave David a profound promise that David’s throne would last FOREVER! David didn’t jump out to go tell the  remaining members of Saul’s family the good (bad?) news.  

We see that he responded by taking the promise directly back to God (it originally came through a prophet); he "SAT DOWN" and talked to God about the details of that Promise he had just received. At a point he was even actually holding God to His words (vs. 25,26). 

Understanding the details of the promise is very important.

Factor 2 :ACCEPTANCE

And these are they which are sown on good ground; such as hear the word, and RECEIVE it,  (Mk4: 20)

It’s not enough to comprehend what God has shown you; you must also acknowledge or accept it. In the Old Testament, when God gave a prophet a vision, He sometimes began with the phrase, “What do you see?” He said it 7 times – thrice to Jeremiah and twice each to Amos and Zechariah (Jer 1:11,13; 24:3; Am 7:8, 8:2, Zech 4:2, 5:2). Of course God knew what they were seeing, but He needed them to acknowledge it for the vision to be effective. 

When you get a vision, check to see if you actually BUY it, (that’s what receiving means). Without faith, it is impossible to please God . 

Do you know what it means to have a dynasty that lasts forever? (David)

Do you know what it means to have a baby as a virgin, and not just any baby but the Messiah? (Mary)

We read their stories and simply move on, but when God gives us our own FANTASTIC promise, we let it slip because we want to be “Realistic”.

Have you accepted the promise?

Factor 3: PATIENCE

But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit WITH PATIENCE. (Lk 8:15)

The literal Greek rendition means “In patience”; as if that is where you put the seed in.

“There is no other way for real fruit to come. Mushrooms spring up overnight, but they are usually poisonous. The best fruits require time, cultivation, patience”. (A.T. Robertson)

Heb 6:12  That you be not slothful, but followers of them who THROUGH FAITH AND PATIENCE INHERIT THE PROMISES.

Heb 10:36  For you have need of PATIENCE, that, after you have done the will of God, YOU MIGHT RECEIVE THE PROMISE.

Jas 1:4  But LET PATIENCE HAVE HER PERFECT WORK, that you may be perfect and entire, LACKING IN NOTHING.

Jas 5:7  Behold, THE FARMER waits for the precious fruit of the earth, and has LONG PATIENCE for it, until he receives the early and latter rain.

We'll close the series with these 2 verses:

But the seed planted in the good earth represents those who hear the Word, embrace it, and produce a harvest beyond their  wildest dreams.  Mk 4:20 (MSG).

They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.  He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him. (Psalm 126:5,6).

AMEN.

More Blessings Await you today, you’ll not miss them in Jesus Name.

Greg Elkan

THE WORD FOR TODAY

A TALE OF FOUR GROUNDS (Part 3)

 “Listen! A farmer went out to plant his seed.” Mark 4:3 (easy-to-read).

Greetings Brethren.

We’re still on the Four Grounds in Jesus’ The Parable of the Sower.

 “And he spoke many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow...

And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them:

But others fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some a hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold

Who has ears to hear, let him hear.” - Matthew 13:3-89

Ground 3 – A Believer Must Not Have More Than One ‘W’

No, we’re not talking about polygamy.

“The seed planted among thornbushes is another person who hears the WORD. But the WORRIES of life and the deceitful pleasures of riches choke the word so that it can't produce anything.  – Matthew 13:22 (GW)

This third group are the most spiritually advanced so far. They have received the word and have acknowledged it as from God. They have also allowed the word to take root in their heart. The seed, which is the word of God, has been embedded into their heart and any day now the fruit will pop out.

However, our Christian life is not lived in a vacuum, unfortunately.

Oh don’t we all yearn for the day when our personal ‘Quiet Time’ in the morning will be unending. We’ll be able to just sit solely at the Master’s feet, enjoying sweet fellowship and communion with our Saviour; talking to Him and Him talking to us; singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs...

KNOCK! KNOCK! On the door...

(Sigh!) Alas, Reality calls.

There are bills to pay, children to feed, spouses to acknowledge, and if you’re a minister, scriptures to be study (ironic, innit?)

Yes, we live in a real world, and actually, that’s how God wants it. When the Christ was transfigured on the mount, (Lk 9:29-36), Peter asked that they made shelters and remained there; but Jesus was talking about going down to fulfil His destiny.

There’s nothing wrong with the things we do outside of the Prayer Closet. Practically, we must need spend more time outside of it than in.

Nevertheless, what our passage is talking about is what someone called, “An anxious and immoderate care of the things of this present life”.

Jesus laid great emphasis on His Sermon on the Mount about this type of worry; but before he talked about worry, He prefaced with:

“No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.  (Mat 6:24).

In the context of our parable, the application is simple: “you cannot have the Word (the seed) and Worry (the thorns ) at the same time”: A Believer Must Not Have More Than One ‘W’.

Let’s conclude today’s thoughts with

4 Things To Note About The Thorns:

1. THE THORNS WERE ALREADY THERE BEFORE THE WORD CAME

The Bible said, “He also that received seed AMONG THE THORNS” 

Thant means the land was not properly cleared and seeded.

2. THE BELIEVER ALLOWED THE THORNS TO GROW AS WELL AS THE WORD.

Jesus said, “Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink?  (Mat 6:31)

Paul says, “Be anxious for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.  (Phil. 4:6)

Peter says, “Casting all your care upon him; for he cares for you.  (1 Pt 5:7)

Don’t allow the thorns to choke the word.

3. THE THORNS AND THE WORD ARE SIMILAR

Both require nourishment, or they will die out.

The thorn grows by worrying.

The word grows by meditation.

And as Pastor Rick Warren once pointed out, “IF YOU KNOW HOW TO WORRY, THEN YOU KNOW HOW TO MEDITATE”

Do you see it now? They both feed on the same thing. But thorns don’t need skills to be cultivated, just like you do not need discipline to worry: it comes naturally.  So, make more effort to consciously ponder on what God has said as opposed to all the waves of worry the devil throws at you.

4. THE THORNS, ALSO, DO NOT LIVE IN A VACUUM 

The thorns are there to choke the Word out. So anytime you catch yourself worrying, ask yourself, “What Word has God placed in my spirit that this ‘thorn’ is trying to choke out?”

That way, you’ll give the devil the unpleasant task of constantly reminding you that it’s time to meditate on God’s word.  

AMEN.

More Blessings Await you today, you’ll not miss them in Jesus Name.

Greg Elkan

THE WORD FOR TODAY

A TALE OF FOUR GROUNDS (Part 2)

 “Listen! A farmer went out to plant his seed.” Mark 4:3 (easy-to-read).

Today, We’ll continue with our reflections on Jesus’s “The Parable of the Sower.”

 “And he spoke many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow...

Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and immediately they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth:

And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away...

But others fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some a hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.

Who has ears to hear, let him hear.” - Matthew 13:3-89

Yesterday, we found out that “Nothing Ever Happens at the Wayside”. The people in the second group of today will tell you that they are not that dumb. They’re cool, they’re hip. The word of God has come, and their hands are in the air. Oh yeah...

Ground 2 – “Let’s ROCK and Roll-on”

The members of this group are luckier than the first in that they hear and actually acknowledge the Word as being from God. God may have given them a revelation, or a man of God might have prophesied into their life, or their pastor may have proclaimed that they’d be living in THEIR OWN houses before the end of the year, etc. and they RECEIVE it.

They’re naturally excited, they believe and shout a loud “Amen!” to it.

The devil cannot steal it anymore, it has been acknowledge as from God.  Jesus says that they receive the word with joy, but (oops) they have NO ROOTS.

No foundation. No basis. No ground. The word ‘root’ signifies depth. Many people like shallow manifestations, the so-called believe-and-receive miracles. They’re ever too ready to affirm every (and sometimes contradictory) statement they hear from a pulpit.

Now let’s assume God Himself appears to them during their Quiet Time and says, “I’ll make you so prosperous that banks will start lending from you!” How do these group of people react? (Ground 1 people will probably say that “it thundered” (see John 12:29)); but this group will jump and run around the room in excitement that they have finally received a direct word from God. They’ll pray in tongues for one hour and then rush out – forgetting that they’ve not picked up anything from God, (not least the money itself).

They expect a check of 33 billion dollars to fall on their laps two days after the promise; (BTW, 30 billion is for the “lending”, the extra 3 billion is for the shopping list they drew up after the promise was given).

They have no instruction, they have no plan, they have no understanding of the character of the God that’s about to bless them, no comprehension of what He’s said in His word concerning prosperity, no appreciation of His purpose for their life and the resources to be endowed on them, no conception of the TIME PLAN, no NOTHING!

In short, they have “NO ROOTS”.

If God tells a young man that He’s going to make him stand before kings, that doesn’t mean the man should just stand there, smirking around like someone who’s in on some juicy secret. No, he’s supposed to get his acts together: include that statement in his daily Faith confessions, pray regularly about it to keep it in his head and to battle spiritual forces (that have already started planning how to oppose him), study to show himself approved, polish his language, read up on public speaking, etc.  (We probably all know of people who have stood before kings either literally or metaphorically who we see make a mess of the opportunity).

Our Lord explains what happened to the seed in this category:

“And what about the seed that fell on ROCKy ground? That is like the people who hear the teaching and quickly and gladly ACCEPT it.

But they do not let the teaching go deep into their lives. They keep it only a short time. AS SOON AS TROUBLE OR PERSECUTION COMES BECAUSE OF THE TEACHING THEY ACCEPTED, THEY GIVE UP. – Matthew 13:20-21 (ERV)

Practically speaking, no bank will approach you for a loan if your net worth is less than 9-figures, in dollars. However, you should realize that, as long as that word is from God, the Devil will automatically start seeing you as a billionaire and will mount “BILLIONAIRE” type of attacks on you, (even if you’re penniless right now).

THINK ABOUT IT

Think about any specific promise that you received from God, either directly, through prophecy, ‘word of knowledge’, scriptural revelation, etc. Now think about how your life seems to be experiencing just the exact opposite.

Did God lie?

Was that man of God dubious?

Were you self-deluded?

Or is evidence that the Devil is fighting tooth and nail to stop that word from coming to pass?

Are you David, anointed to be king, yet now a renegade soldier?

Are you Moses, a prince of Egypt destined to deliver your people, yet finding yourself a fugitive from Pharaoh?

Or are you Jeremiah? Called to be a “Prophet to the nations”, yet you spend most of your time at the bottom of a dry well or in prison?

Don’t be a ROCKy Christian, don’t be OFFENDED, it’s just the World/Satan telling you they take that word from God to you seriously, (even if you don’t).

AMEN.

More Blessings Await you today, you’ll not miss them in Jesus Name.

Greg Elkan

A Tale of Four Grounds (Part 1)

 “Listen! A farmer went out to plant his seed.” Mark 4:3 (easy-to-read).

Greetings Brothers and Sisters, I trust you’ve been having a great day.

Welcome to the new afternoon devotion titled THE WORD FOR TODAY. My prayer is that you find them a blessing.

Today, I’d like to share with you from a very familiar story that Jesus used to teach his disciples: The Parable of the Sower.

“And he spoke many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow;

And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the wayside, and the fowls came and devoured them up:

.

.

.

But others fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some a hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.

Who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

- Matthew 13:3-9

The Parable of the Sower is so rich a story that it is sometimes called, “The Mother of All Parables” (Mark 4:13). The aspect about this parable that I’d be dwelling on is God’s vision, inspiration or idea given to us as represented by the seed of the sower.

I have always believed that there are no ‘special people’, or ‘super Christians’; that is, I don’t believe that there are uniquely favoured persons whom God has set aside to be the main events of history would just be ordinary. I believe that God gives faith, revelation and ideas to all who are His children. James 1:5 says God “gives to all men liberally”, the Easy-to-read version says He is generous and “ENJOYS GIVING TO ALL PEOPLE”.

So why are some shinning over others? Indeed why WILL some shine over others? The distinction is in the way we His children act on what we have received. In other words, NOT ALL HEARTS ARE THE SAME.

A Tale of Four Grounds

The Bible says ‘The SEED IS THE WORD OF GOD,’ (Lk 8:11) and the farmer is God Himself, giving His Word to all who care to receive. The grounds here for this lesson represent our hearts, attitudes and mentalities to the Word of God as it arrives.

So we’ll be taking a look at the FOUR different ‘GROUNDS’, which refers to

GROUND 1 – NOTHING HAPPENS AT THE WAYSIDE

“Hear you therefore the parable of the sower.

When any one hears the word of the kingdom, and understands it not, then comes the wicked one, and catches away that which was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the way side”.

– Matthew 13:18-19

The majority of recipients of God-given ideas are in this category; they never even get to know something hot is in their hands before the sly, ever-observant enemy picks it up. They receive the word but dispel it as some fanciful thought, an impossible feat, or something like that.

Because they lack understanding, they fail to distinguish between a fabulous idea and a God-inspired one. Scripture says the devil comes and “takes the word OUT of their hearts”.

THINK ABOUT IT

Did God say anything to you this morning when you prayed, or did you just pray and say “Amen”?

How about your ‘Bible Reading’? Was the passage from Leviticus too boring, or the ‘Sermon on the Mount’ too familiar. We usually day that “One word from God can change a man’s destiny”. But no one ever told us that that word could be in the passage we read hurriedly while preparing to go to work, or said in-passing by our pastor as he was rounding off his sermon.

The people in this Ground 1 category aren’t unbelieving sceptics. No, they are believers who hear the word but lost it because, (Jesus said) “They understand it not”.

It’s easy for the devil to steal the word if you the recipient do not know it’s THE word in the first place.

So next time you open your Bible, let the words of Deacon Philip come to you to ask you this basic question: “Understandest thou what thou readest?”

AMEN.

We’ll continue tomorrow.

More Blessings Await you today, you’ll not miss them in Jesus Name.

Greg Elkan