Tuesday, May 17, 2016

Devotion: God’s Word Is A Seed


Most of you are familiar with “The Parable Of The Sower.”  Jesus explains the parable to his disciples this way.

“And his disciples asked him, saying, What might this parable be?  And he said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand.  Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.  Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.  They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away.  And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection.  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” (Luke 8:9-15).

The disciples asked Jesus why he spoke to everyone in parables.  He replied with, God has arranged for you to know the meaning of the parable because it tells about the mysteries of the kingdom of God.  He was telling them that anyone that hath ears to hear would hear the parable and understand.  Everyone else who received the parable would see and yet not see, and would hear and yet not understand.  Jesus went on to explain the meaning of the parable.  The seed represents God’s message to men, which falls on all types of ground.  The ground is a representation of the hearts of man.  Some seeds fell on the roadside, which represents those with hard hearts who hear the words, but then the devil comes and steels the message away, which prevents them from believing and being saved.  Some seeds fell on the stony ground, which represents those who enjoy listening to sermons, but somehow the message never really gets through to them.  Even though they know the message to be truth and they believe for a short period, the message never takes root and grows.  Their enthusiasm fades as the winds of persecution blow because of their beliefs and they lose interest as the temptations come.

Some seeds fell among the thorns, which represents those who listen and believe God’s words but the message is choked out by the cares of the world and their quest for money.  Their faith dies because they allow anxiety and worry, wealth and riches, the responsibilities and pleasures of life, and the gaieties of time to reign in their lives instead of the word of God.  They are never able to help anyone else to believe the Good News because they are never in a position to be a living testimony for the kingdom of God thus yielding no return and bringing forth no fruit.  Some seeds fell on good ground, which represents those who are honest and good-hearted people that have ears to hear.

And it was those who are honest and good-hearted people that have ears to hear that listens to God’s message with open minds and in the right spirit.  They hold tightly to the message and steadily spread the Good News to others because they are always in a position to be a living testimony for the kingdom of God thus yielding a great return and bringing forth much fruit.  They are the spiritually and morally mature believers that understand the terms used by the Holy Spirit to reveal those mysteries of God to them.  They understand the wisdom that has come down from God, telling them of his plans for man which have been hidden throughout the ages but are now reveal by the Spirit.  The others do not have the understanding and they do not recognize the truth because their wisdom is that which the world uses or the kind of wisdom that the rulers of this world use.  Their wisdom comes from the earth realm and is the kind that appeals to the great men of this world.

“The word of God is a seed” and it gets planted in the hearts of man.  Depending on the heart of the man, depending on the type of soil available, the seed will grow differently in each heart.  Many believe themselves to be that honest and good-hearted people, who have ears to hear God’s message with open minds and in the right spirit, however the truth of the matter is that they are those, who actually hear the words of God without understanding.  They have the wisdom that comes from the world, not the wisdom that comes from God.  Know this about the word of God.  The word of God is a single seed that produces a single crop; it is not a seed that produces a variety of crops.  The word of God does not and cannot produce a variety of truths; it produces only one truth, which is “the gospel truth.”  If you be among them who have an ear to hear, then hear this revelation, understand and let it produce a crop.

As always, we pray that today’s inspirational message will abundantly bless you, greatly inform you, and that you will be the better for having read it.  If blessed by this message, please share so that others may be blessed as well.  Amen.

Enjoy your blessings - KW

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