Do Not Be Deceived – God Is Not Mocked Part 1
Scripture: Matthew 13:18-23; 2 Corinthians 9:6-7
Introduction
This message if the first of my new series titled “Do Not Be Deceived – God Is Not Mocked.” This morning I will focus primarily on the seeds that are being planted within us and what we are doing with them. Once we have a good understanding of the seeds being sown within and through us, I will transition to the main part of the series that focuses on the truth that God will not be mocked in what He has said.
Now let me give you one example of when we generally think of sowing seeds. Last week one of the members shared with me that on last Sunday the Spirit of God told them to give a sacrificial offering to the building fund. They struggled at first, but then wrote the check. On Monday when they checked their mail, they had received in the mail two checks totaling $800 when they were only expecting about $200. Yes, our God is a great God. When I heard the testimony, I reflected on the Scripture from 2 Corinthians 9:6-7 which states: “Now this I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each person must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” When we read this Scripture, we love it because it speaks of us receiving financially from the Lord if we give. But this Scripture ties in with a law that God has in place that based on what seeds you are sowing, you will reap either positive and negative fruit. Notice I say that you will reap – this is a guarantee – you will reap based on what you sow. When you read what Paul says in verse seven, he says “Each person must do just as he has purposed in his heart….” Focus on that sentence – “each must do as he has purposed in his heart.” Once again we see that it starts with the heart. Jesus spent a lot time teaching on what is on the inside of man. When we make decisions to act, in any different situation, most of those decisions are based on what is in our hearts. Understand, when we sow seeds, we can only sow the seeds from what is in our hearts. Remember several weeks ago when I told you about the 75% Rodney? Consider some of the seeds that I sowed when I was 95% Rodney. Doesn’t that give you a chill?
In my previous two messages, I shared with you our need to “stand in the gap” for others, both physically and spiritually. In the last part of the message, I told you about standing in the gap for someone that you did not like or someone who did not like you. Standing in the gap for them tends to be harder than standing in for a family member or friend. In that message I also talked about how we must stand for others even when we ourselves are going through a difficult time. So, you may be wondering how the message on standing in the gap ties in with this message “Do Not Be Deceived – God Is Not Mocked” and how it ties in with what we will be discussing in Bible study. Let me tell you: everything that we do causes a reaction either in the natural or in the spiritual realm. These reactions are tied to a principle that God has in place on sowing and reaping. Although we tend to think about this more as it relates to financial blessings, it is important to realize that it affects everything that we do in life. In this introductory message, I will be focusing on one area, our relationship and interaction with others. My desire is to motivate you to pull through our current standing in the gap prayer initiative (each family member praying for someone else) and prepare you for what is upcoming in our Church body.
I. You Have Access To The Seed
Let me start by assuring you that seeds are being sown in your life and you are actually sowing seeds on a daily basis. Consider the person who plants a garden. My wife has a garden in our backyard. She plants tomatoes, cucumbers and other vegetables that are healthy for the body. I do very little in assisting her with the tending of the garden. If she were growing candy, cakes and other junk food, I’d be all over it, but she is growing healthy food. Every year she goes to the store and buys the different seeds or small plants of the vegetables she will place in her garden. When she returns home for the store, she opens the seeds (or small plants), plants them in the ground, waters them, keep the animals away until they begin to grow and produce her fruit. When the fruit is read, then she receives her harvest. Now I do not plant the seeds and seldom do I water the garden. I did little to keep the animals away after I put the fence up around the plants. Although I did little in planting and keeping up the garden, when she receives her harvest, I am there being blessed by what she has grown. Think about that fact for a moment. She did almost all of the work and yet I am being blessed through her efforts. Although this seems unfair, in reality this is what we are supposed to be doing as Christians – this is how we sow good seeds and also how we stand in the gap for others. Other people should be receiving their blessings through our work for Christ. Turn to Matthew the 13th chapter and look down at verse 23. “And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty and some thirty.”
The first thing we need to understand as Christians is that we have daily access to the seed that God uses to bring fruit into our lives and the lives of others. God’s seed is His Word which is actually in most households still unopened. Although most household have a bible, often it just sits on the shelf and not opened or read. This is the same thing as if we prepared our soil for a garden, went to the store and purchased the seeds, and never planted them. How stupid we would be to go out and water the ground, fertilize it, looking for some growth when we never planted any seeds. As you think about that, consider this. What if you planted the seeds but you never took them out of the package. You just placed the whole package in the ground. Although you planted the seeds, you will still not receive a crop because you never opened the package. If all you do is go to Church and receive the seeds (through the preached word) but you never go home and open the package and take the seeds out (which comes through your own personal study and understanding of God’s word) then you will not bring forth any lasting fruit.
When Jesus started this teaching at the beginning of this chapter He told the people a parable about a farmer sowing seeds. In the verse we just read, He was explaining to His disciples what the parable meant. In the parable, a man went out into his fields and planted seeds. Some of the seeds fell on the road and did not have access to the dirt so the birds came and ate them. Some of the seeds fell into rocky places and although they started to spring up, because they did not have much soil their roots were shallow and they died quickly. Some of the seeds fell along the thorns and when they began to grow, the thorns choked them out. Finally, some of the seeds fell on good soil and yielded fruit, some a hundredfold, some sixty and some thirty. If you have ever been around a farm you will know that this very thing happens all the time. Not every seed that is dropped will bring forth fruit. After Jesus had shared this parable, His disciples asked Him what it meant. Jesus began to tell them the differences between the seeds that did not produce fruit versus those that did and how it related spiritually. Let’s examine the seeds, where they fell and how that compared exactly what happens in our spiritual life. Keep this in mind: these seeds are being sown on people who are believers – not those who are lost.
Seeds that fell beside the road. “When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the one on whom seed was sown beside the road.” (Vs. 19) The seeds that fell along side the road were eaten by the birds. Jesus said that represents the person who hears God word but does not understand and so Satan snatches it away. How is this done? The fact that you can hear God’s Word and have Satan steal it from you should explain why it is so important that we study God’s word for ourselves – so that we can understand. You see, it is only God’s word that we understand that we retain and can use to bear fruit. If we hear a sermon or participate in a bible study lesson and do not understand all of it, in most cases we will discard what we do not understand without ever going and searching it out and trying to gain an understanding of it. Those seeds that were planted die and sometimes those were the exact seeds that we needed to hear in order to bear the specific fruit that we needed. Satan quickly removes from our memory any sown seed that we do not cultivate, fertilize and pay attention to. In order to cultivate, fertilize and pay attention to the seeds, we must study to gain an understanding. You can hear something and remember it for a couple of hours, but you can study and learn something and remember it for life. The word of God that we receive and do not understand, nor actively seek an understanding, Satan steals.
Seeds that feel upon the rocks. “The one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away.” (Vs. 20-21) This is an interesting observation. The seeds that fell on the rock actually started growing – but because it did have a deep root system, the sun quickly burned them up and they died. Plants receive their nutrition from the ground, from their roots system. This is why large, strong plants will have deep roots. Well the same applies to Christians. If we do not have strong roots which come through learning and understanding God’s word, although we may start producing a vine, we will not produce fruit. The person that Jesus describes in these verses is one who comes to Church, gladly receives the word and starts to put the word into practice. When they start putting the word into practice, they receive opposition. Maybe some tells them that they have it wrong so they forget about what they heard. Maybe someone ridicules them and accuses them of trying to be too holy, and they forget the word. Whatever the cause, because the person is not firmly rooted in God’s word, they are tossed to and fro when people disagree with them and they forget the very word that was sown within them. What is so bad is that the word had begun to plant itself and grow, but the vine was pulled out before it could produce fruit. Have you ever pulled weeds from a garden or flower bed? It is when you pull it up with the root that it does not come back. This is spiritually what Satan does with God’s word that is sown within us if we do not have a firm root system. If you do not have that foundation, you are subject to believe any new doctrine that comes along which kill the seeds that God has planted within you through His word. Let’s look at what happens with the seeds that grew among the thorns.
Seeds that fell among the thorns. “And the one on whom the seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.” (Vs. 22) This is the person who hears and receives the word and the word takes hold and begins to grow. However, before it can produce any fruit, the cares of this life choke it so that it produces no fruit at all. Think about the person who starts off on fire for God, wanting to serve in many positions within the Church. They attend bible study and can be found at Church 30 minutes before services starts. Then they get a big promotion on the job and they find that they do not have time for God anymore because their lifestyle has changed because of the money they are making. To keep earning the money requires sacrifice and what they choose to give up is their time with God. The one who has blessed them continually must now take a back seat. This individual places earning money ahead of God, their family and everything else. And although they do this, they are the first to stand up and talk about how God is blessing them. They fail to see that the seeds that God has sown within them are being choked and they themselves are unable to bear any fruit with those seeds because the seeds are not being tended to. Do you know this person?
Before I go into the seeds that fell on good soil let me first recap and ensure that we all understand what Satan does when a believer hears and receives the word. Remember, it is the believer whom Satan is most concerned about because the believer can have impact on those who are lost. If someone does not believe in or accepts Christ they will not be involved in reaching out to the lost as their focus will be elsewhere. In these three examples, let’s assume that each of these individuals are Christians and members of New Light Christian Fellowship. Let’s assume that these people are in this Church today.
In the first example, Brother Bob hears the word but some of it he does not understand. Brother Bob feels that although he does not understand it, it is no big deal as he is doing fine in his Christian walk. He believes that he only need a certain amount of the “Sunday stuff” to get along in life. He does not have the time or desire to research the stuff he hears that he does not understand. Personal bible for him is bringing his bible to Church and taking it home. He believes if God really want him to know the Scriptures as well as the Pastor then God would have called him into the ministry as well. After all, it is the Pastor’s and bible study teacher’s job to know the word and break it down for him and if they do not do their job well, it is not his fault. Bob does not understand the seeds that God is sowing within him are being destroyed and he will not be able to bring forth any fruit. Do you know Bob?
Now let’s look at Sis. Jane. Sis. Jane loves to come to church and she loves the word. She is very active in the Church, working on a number of committees and singing in the choir, etc. When she hears the word, she researches it to see if it is correct. She reads her bible at night before she goes to bed. Whenever she hears something that she does not know, she latches on to it and tries to put it into practice. However, because she is not studying the word and planting it within her versus just reading it, she does not have a strong foundation, a strong root system. So whenever she faces opposition because of what she “thinks” she believes, she changes her belief. Some of her strongest beliefs are based on what the majority thinks, even if it contradicts what God’s word says. Whenever she faces opposition because of what she believes, she shuts down. She becomes a silent, unopposed Christian living quietly in this world producing no fruit. Do you know Sis. Jane?
Finally we have Deacon Tim. Deacon Tim hears and understands the word but he is a busy man. The word begins to grow in his life, especially as he operates in his ministry as a deacon. But again, Deacon Tim is a busy man and has other concerns. He just got a new position on his job making more money. He must work hard because he needs to take care of his family, pay the bills; the high priced gas, the kid’s college tuition, increase his saving’s account and pay for the annual vacations that he takes the family on every year. Although he is a Deacon and people respond to him when he is functioning in his role, he cannot produce fruit because he does not have the time to fully function in his ministry. He may call a member every now and then and check on them, but most of his time is spent earning his living. Because of all of the other things he has on his mind, the word of God slips away from him and the vine that can produce fruit from his activities dies. Do you know Deacon Tim?
It is important that we understand what is happening in our world. First, Satan does not mind our coming to Church and hearing the word of God spoken. He does not mind our opening our bibles in the evening to read a few verses so that we can say that we did it. What gets him concerned is when we actually start trying to do something with the word. So when we first hear it, what we do not understand, he tells us it is too confusing so we do not have to worry about it. So what do we do? We don’t worry about it and it is gone. We cannot even remember what it was about that we did not understand. Having accomplished that, he attacks the word that we do hear and understand. He places stumbling blocks in our way that comes in a variety of packages. It could be a family member who does not believe as you do or some leader in the Church that tells you not to get too excited as you still have a lot of learning to do. Satan will use whatever and whoever he can to kill the word being planted within you. Finally, as in the case with Deacon Tim, when those two tactics of Satan do not work because the person does have some spiritual maturity, he goes to the last tactic. Deacon Tim knows how to study God’s word and he studies it. When he hears something that he does not understand, he knows where to go to learn more about it. Because he is a deacon, he will not let Satan stop him by from trying to understand as much as he can about God’s word. So the first two tactics will not work on him. So Satan uses the third tactic for someone like Deacon Tim. Satan will use our own life focus to kill the fruit. With Deacon Tim, he became so busy trying to earn more money, taking care of all of the family’s needs and desires that he became ineffective in his ministry and his vine that could have produced fruit died. People were being blessed by what he was doing and they were left to ask, “Whatever happened to Deacon Tim, he used to be so active?” Does this sound at all familiar to what we see on a daily basis in our lives and the lives of others? This is not a mistake, this is by designed. Remember, it is the word that is in each of us that will bring forth fruit – if we do not let it die! Now look at what Jesus said about the fruit that fell on good soil.
Seeds that fell on good soil. “And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty and some thirty.” (Vs. 23) The seed that fell on good soil is the man who heard it, understands it and begins to bring forth fruit. How does he do it? He does it by fertilizing the word that he hears by studying God’s word for more revelation. When he confirms that the word which he heard is true, he accepts and believes it. When he accepts and believes it, he began to act on it, to put it in practice in his life. As he puts it into practice, others are impacted by his actions so the seeds that are within him are now being sown in the lives of others. Prayers are being answered, people are being saved, and people are receiving healing because of the seeds that have been sown in fertile soil. And true to what happens in the natural, some of the seeds that were sown grew a hundredfold, some sixty and some thirty. Although not all of the seeds gave the same return, they all grew.
Before I can go into the heart of this series, we must understand that God is sowing seeds upon us every time we hear and/or open our bibles and study His word. Now what we do with those seeds will directly impact the amount of fruit (if any) those seeds will bear. As God is sowing seeds among us, we must also remember that Satan is sowing his seeds to. Satan is sowing seeds within us constantly – through the TV, through work, through our past, you name it. Based on how we are living, we are giving Satan more opportunity to sow seeds into us than we are God. Satan sows his seeds right beside God’s in hope that his seeds will grow faster and choke out the seeds that are being placed within us through God’s word. It is a sad fact that Satan’s seed does in fact often grow faster and choke out God’s seeds in the Christian life because we like Satan’s seeds better. We like being able to lie, steal, cheat, focus on money and having all of our pleasures met. We do not like it when we must practice self-control, giving of our time, effort and funds to God with the hope of having Him meet all of our current and upcoming needs. Yes, we truly like Satan’s seeds better because they bring immediate pleasure to our souls. This is the reason why we are in the condition that we are in. If you read further in the thirteenth chapter of Matthew, verses twenty-four thru thirty, you will find another parable of seeds being sown by the farmer (God) and the farmer’s enemy (Satan). This analogy tells us that as God sows His seeds upon us, Satan is doing the same thing.
Understand people that we are all constantly sowing seeds and there are only two types of seeds that we can sow: we can sow the good seeds which comes from God or we can sow the bad seeds which come from Satan. The seeds that we choose to allow to grow within us (regardless of its source) will produce the fruit of those seeds. The fruit from those seeds will provide the seeds that we will use to plant in others. Do you understand what I am saying? We are planting seeds into the life of others which we hope will bear fruit and they will. But in order for them to bear good fruit, they must be good seeds. God (and Satan) plants seeds within us that produce fruit and the seeds that we plant in others come from the fruit that was produced within us through those seeds. Remember, a seed can only produce the type of fruit for which it is. You will never grow a cucumber with tomato seed. Remember, we cannot plant what we do not have. I told you earlier about the 75% Rodney and the 25% Holy Spirit which makes up the total me? Well that 75% Rodney has a lot of bad seeds that have been sown within me through the years that I must be faithful to kill so that they do not produce fruit for once they produce fruit and additional seeds, I would be tempted to sow those seeds into the lives of others. As I get more and more of those seeds out of my life (while not accepting new seeds) I get closer and closer to allowing the Holy Spirit to have control. There have been many times that I did not catch those seeds before they produced fruit and I took the seeds from that fruit and sowed them into the lives of others. There have been times that I said hurtful things; times that I did hurtful things; times that I did not accept God’s grace in my life: times that I discounted what God was doing in someone else’s life; times when anger ruled my life. All of those bad seeds that I sowed came from the seeds that produce bad fruit in my life. What pains me today is that I know some of those bad seeds that I sowed in the life of others in my ignorance have produced some bad fruit within them.
If you remember nothing else today, remember this: “You are sowing seeds! The seeds you are sowing are coming from the fruit that were produced by the seeds sown within you. If those seeds are good, you will produce good fruit if you tend to the seeds; and you will have good seeds to sow into the life of someone else. If those seeds are bad, you will have bad fruit and thus bad seeds to sow into the lives of others. You can only sow from the seeds that have been sown within you once they have produced fruit. The fruit you produce provides it own seed for more fruit to be produced.”
In preparation for the message next week, please review the sixth chapter of Galatians. May God bless and keep you.
