Fruitful Christin.
Mathew 13:8 "Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop, a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown".
There is a saying in English "Something is better than nothing" This is against what is taught by the Bible. Bible says Rev. 3:15-16 I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm that is neither hot nor cold I am about to spit you out of my mouth. God does not want you to be in a lukewarm state. Either God want to see you in a hot condition or in cold condition.
Here we are talking about the seed, It produced a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. Sometimes I wonder why it is in the reducing order. Then I found, when someone come to Christ he will produce a hundred times. During after living a Christian life for a few years, his faith grow cold and produce only sixty times fruits. Again after some more time the faith grow cold and produce only thirty times.
In Mark 4:8 it says in the reverse order Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, multiplying thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times." It talk about the people who’s faith grow day by day.
The thing is that you should understand the word of God and it should grow day by day. If it is not growing, as said in Mathew 13: 19 Satan will take it away from your mind. When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path.
That means if you are not understanding what is told about the kingdom of God, Satan will take it away from you. Therefore please try to understand what is told about the Kingdom of God. Try to understand the word of God. Listen it carefully, Note it down in your note book and review it very often. It will stay with you for a long time and produce better fruits.
Mathew 13:4 it was said like this: A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Here it was birds, but when it explained at Matehew 13:19 these birds are symbolized for Satan.
This Satan or birds are not invited by the farmer. There was no invitation sent to the Satan. No notice sent out. That in a particular date and day the farmer will sow the seeds. Still they are present there for the seed, to take it away or eat.
The farmer has no intention to sow the seed in the road. He went to his field which was prepared for sowing. And the Satan could not take the seeds that fell on the good ground which prepared for the sowing. It says that some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. The farmer does not have any intention to sow the seed on the path. Then how it fell on the path. That is the question?
Lest us look at these paths in the good field. These paths are made up due to continuous walk on these field for different purposes. Walking regularly in the same route will create a foot path in the field. For years, people are walking through these field, in the same route. And it became a path. This path may be your tradition, or imagination or mind setup which will not accept any other thoughts or doctrines.
Let me explain it: In India An educated man was watching the children. The children in the neighborhood were playing family life, i.e. acting like father and mother.. As part of their play the girls made food, while husbands (boys) went out for work. Their children (small kids) went out for school. When the boys returned after work, the girls invited the boys to have dinner. After having dinner one boy got up and beat his wife. The wise man who was watching the children got curious and asked about it. Then the wise man understood from the boy that his father used to come home after drinking alcohol and after dinner he usually beat his wife. In this boy’s mind, the thought of beating his wife after dinner is a part of family life. Till he replace this mind set up he will not be able to lead a good family life.
We all have the same kind of mind setup or tradition or thought process. If you are turned to this kind of thought process or if your under such believes, no one can bring a change in to your life. Even if, Jesus himself came and preach to you, it won’t make any difference. Unless you change your thought process - the foot path - you created in your heart through the experience of many years no one can make a change in your life. These are the foot paths where the seeds fell and the Satan took it away from your heart. If you change these foot paths in to a fertile filed, Seeds will started to grow both the directions. Down ward and upward. Roots will go down and the stem will grow up. The best thing is that birds would not be able to find the seed. Birds will only see the plant. And these plants will yield thirty, sixty or hundred times fruits. These foot paths needs to be changed into fertile Land.
One way to may your heart a fertile land is when you here a sermon, please think that God is speaking to you, not to the one sitting beside you, not to your wife or children, it is for you. We tempt to think when we hear a sermon that it is for that particular brother or sister. If you hold this belief, the word of God would not settle in your heart. It is just like the seed fell on the path, and the Satan will take it away. You will forget about the word of God easily. This kind of thought - that the message is for a particular brother or sister or your son or your daughter - will not make any changes in those peoples life as well as your’s life. The preaching would be a waste of time and effort.
If you accept that the message and think that it is for me and hold it in your heart, it will produce a hundred, sixty or thirty times. The seeds may fell into the hearts of that particular person - whom you think the message is for him/her - may grow and reproduce a hundred fold.
If you sit in your Church with an attitude that I know more about the word of God than the preacher attitude, the message would not make a difference in your life.
Every Sunday we listen a message. Once a preacher said that if the 10 - 20% of message fell into the right place, it would have made a big difference in our churches.
Old thoughts and deeds are to be changed. Old cloth and new cloth will not match with the new cloths. Old wine will not pour into a new wineskin. Need a new wine skin for the new wine. These foot paths needs to be ploughed up. Then only these seeds will be able to grow deep down as well as grow up wards.
May God bless you.
