Till the Ground

As I thought through this passage, I began to think over my own life and I began to ask the Lord, what needs to be addressed here. The first thing that came to mind is that we as followers of Christ have distress and should be facing some type of persecution because of the word, [Pause} if we are walking in obedience to the command to which we have been called.

We all have worries and struggles with the cares of this world. The question is, how do we till the ground or cause the soil of our hearts to be fertile, good ground?

Worries and distress can be used for one or two things

We can let it tare us down or we can allow it to do what I believe it’s intended for, [Pause] to produce endurance. Trails by default, are a testing of our faith.

James 1:2-3 “Consider it all joy, my brothers, whenever you encounter various trials, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance.”

Jesus says in John 14:27 ““Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you—not as the world gives, I give to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.”

Then later on Paul address this anxiety, to encourage and give instruction to the church at Philippi - Philipians 4:6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

In my oppinion, I saved the best for last that address this entire issue.

If you would, turn with me to Matthew 6:19-34 Jesus said,19.“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and consuming insect destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor consuming insect destroy and where thieves do not break in or steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. Therefore if your eye is sincere, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eye is evil, your whole body will be dark. Therefore if the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!

24 “No one is able to serve two masters. For either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You are not able to serve God and money. “

25 “For this reason I say to you, do not be anxious for your life, what you will eat, and not for your body, what you will wear. Is your life not more than food and your body more than clothing? 26 Consider the birds of the sky, that they do not sow or reap or gather produce into barns, and your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth more than they are? 27 And who among you, by* being anxious, is able to add one hour to his life span? 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Observe the lilies of the field, how they grow: they do not toil or spin, 29 but I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory was dressed like one of these. 30 But if God dresses the grass of the field in this way, although it* is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not do so much more for you, you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?,’ 32 for the pagans seek after all these things. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first his kingdom and righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. 34 Therefore do not be anxious for tomorrow, because tomorrow will be anxious for itself. ⌊Each day has enough trouble of its own.⌋

In this passage Jesus has made known the Culprit of what causes the soil of our hearts to be infertile....

Matthew 6:19-21 The location of what we treasure, is where our hearts are. We follow whatever captivates our hearts (we nust examine ourselves) Who or What gets our time and efforts?

Is it in the things of Gods Kingdom or of this world, when we store treasures in Heaven, Jesus becomes the priority above anything and everything)

Matthew 6:22 What are we putting before our eyes? Light or darkness?

Many of us will say, I don’t watch bad TV shows or look at things that I shouldn’t be looking at. According to the passage, what should we be looking at?

It’s much bigger than that.

Who or whatever has our time, has our heart.

We store up treasures on earth daily and don’t even know it. We fill our hearts daily with newspapers, world events, magazines, Internet articles, daily TV and only reading the Scriptures a few minutes a week.

We must be like the believers in Berea who according to Acts 17:11 received the Word of God with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures daily. Terefore,many of them believed. The culprit, (what we put in matters)

Our eyes are the entrance to our hearts and minds. We should not only see well but also perceive well. It is not only what we see but how we perceive that makes a difference.

How we perceive makes a difference between Godliness and Ungodliness, between light and darkness.

Bad eyes lead to bad perception, but if our eyes are good, we will be filled with light!

Where there is light, there is a clear line of sight.

Where there is darkness, we stumble and fall.

3. Matthew 6:24 We can’t serve two masters.

It is impossible, an absolute bad idea, you love one and give the other the left overs!

More often than not, we give God the leftovers.

Both Paul and Jude reffered to themselves as servants to Jesus.

Jude being the half brother of Jesus could have chosen to be puffed up and prideful yet humbled himself as a servant which should be an example to us as followers of Christ.

Philippians 2:8,”And being found in human form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”

Think about it, fully God and fully man yet He humbled Himself for our sake, and He often gets the leftovers!

The Greek word for servant is doulos, which means, slave or bondservant, someone who sets aside all rights of his own to serve another.

More often than not, many of us try to serve both, me included and it’s so easy, esepecially when it comes to serveing ourselelves before serving Christ.

We as followers / disciples of Christ are supposed to be Crucified with Christ and dead to us, dead to sin but alive with and in Christ.

Living life through faith in Jesus.

Many of our troubles come out of them being led by money rather than the Spirit.

Many will practically sell their souls for dollar.

It becomes what some think about daily, we often look at it as our source rather than God, therefore, it becomes our master.

It consumes us!

The Culprit (having two masters)

These are the culprits of infertile, stoney, thorny ground.

When we add the things of this world, we add the torns, we add the hard ground, we add the stones.

The word of God keeps the ground soft which then when hardships come, they can often be like manure and only enrich the soil!

According to the text, not understanding, the enemy has no problem getting that seed, that one is almost snatched up before it hits the ground.

Proverbs 4:7 states,”The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom, and whatever you get, get insight or understanding.” If you don’t understand, ask for help, we must search diligently, relentlessly!

This is how we get the roots to go deep, by digging!

Draw near to God and He will draw near to us.

Now the question is,”How do we ensure that the ground is fertile?”

Ultimately we seek first the kingdom!

First let’s consider the fertile soil.

This person never allowed the soil of their heart to become so hard that the Word of God never penetrated the surface leaving it for the enemy to easily take it away, this is one that lacks understanding.

This person devoted their lives and hearts in such away that their roots in Christ were so deep that the cares of this world nor persecution caused the Word of God to shrivel away and die.

This person never allowed thorns to take root, choked and suffocated the Word of God.

To get the fourth soil, we must vigilantly guard our heart against the dangers of the other three soils. Any of these soils ultimately causes the death of the Word of God in the heart and no production of fruit for the glory and honor of God.

It is easy for the soil of our heart to be contaminated and either remain or regress into one of these spiritually hazardous soils.

The good news is that the soil of the heart can change.

We can never be careless with the soil of our heart for the soil determines whether the Word of God will produce fruit. Our heart is God’s field and we are farmers together with God. We must cultivate the soil of our heart with Him so that it continually produces a harvest for His glory.

Our hearts desire must become Jesus!

“Proverbs 4:23–26 instructs believers to, “above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. Keep your mouth free of perversity; keep corrupt talk far from your lips. Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you. Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways.”

“When Solomon refers to guarding the heart, he really means the inner core of a person—the thoughts, feelings, desires, will, and choices that make that person who he/she is. “

“The Bible tells us that our thoughts often dictate who we become (Proverbs 23:7; 27:19). The mind of a man reflects who he really is, not simply his actions or words. That is why God examines the heart of a man, not simply his outward appearance and what he appears to be (1 Samuel 16:7).”

“Just as there are many diseases and disorders that can affect the physical heart, there are many ailments of the spiritual heart that can impair growth and development as a believer. Atherosclerosis is a hardening of the arteries due to accumulated cholesterol plaques and scarring in the artery walls. Hardening of the spiritual heart can also occur. Hardening of the heart occurs when we are presented with God’s truth, and we refuse to acknowledge or accept it.”

“Although Egypt was stricken with one calamity after another when pharaoh refused to release the Israelites from their bondage, he hardened his heart against the truth that God Almighty intended to deliver His people from Egypt (Exodus 7:22; 8:32; 9:34). “

“In Psalm 95:7–8, King David pleaded with his people not to harden their hearts in rebellion against God as they did in the wilderness. There are many things that can harden the heart and lead a person to deny God, and just like cholesterol blocks blood flow, they keep a believer from having a free flow of God’s peace and blessings derived from obedience. Guarding against a rebellious spirit and cultivating a spirit of submissive obedience to God’s Word, therefore, this is the first step in guarding the heart.”

“Heart murmurs are abnormal flow patterns due to faulty heart valves. Heart valves act as doors to prevent the backward flow of blood into the heart. Spiritual heart murmurs occur when believers engage in complaining, gossip, disputes, and contention. Believers are instructed many times to avoid grumbling, murmuring, and complaining. (Exodus 16:3; John 6:43; Philippians 2:14). “

“By engaging in these activities, believers shift their focus away from the plans, purposes, and past blessings of God to the things of the world. God sees this as a lack of faith, and without faith, it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). Instead, Christians are instructed to strive for contentment in all things, trusting in God to provide what is needed in His good time (Hebrews 13:5). Guarding against a complaining spirit and cultivating a spirit of gratitude and trust is the second step toward guarding the heart.”

“Congestive heart failure is an inability of the heart to successfully pump blood through the body due to weaknesses within its walls. Congestive heart failure can result from hypertension (high blood pressure), myocardial infarctions (heart attacks), and abnormal enlargement of the heart. The spiritual equivalents are anger, giving in to temptation, and pride. Anger acts like a poison on the body, both physically and spiritually, and makes believers more vulnerable to the temptation to hurt others with their actions and words. Ephesians 4:31–32 instructs us to “Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as God also forgave you in Christ.”

“Every Christian is locked in a constant, intense war with demonic forces. Many of us become so intent on fighting the external spiritual war that we forget that much of our battle is not with external forces, but with our own mind and thoughts. “

“James 1:14–16 tells us, “Each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters.” Sin always begins in the mind. A sinner must first conceive and dwell on the sinful action before he actually carries it out. The first line of defense, therefore, must be to refuse to even contemplate a wrongful action. The apostle Paul tells us to take every thought captive, so that it conforms to the will of God (2 Corinthians 10:3–5).”

“Proverbs 16:18 tells us that pride leads to destruction. Proverbs 16:5, says, “Everyone proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord.” Pride was the first great sin of Satan, when he thought that he could be like God and incited one third of the angels to attempt a coup in heaven (Ezekiel 28:17). For this reason, Satan was cast from heaven. Satan also tempted Eve in the Garden of Eden by appealing to her ego. He said, “For God knows that when you eat from [the forbidden tree] your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Eve desired to be as wise as God, so she gave in to Satan’s advice to eat of the fruit of the tree. Pride was, therefore, the downfall of man, as well. Satan did not want man to obey God but to become his own god—determining for himself reality, meaning, and ethics. This satanic philosophy is the foundational philosophy of sorcery, secular humanism, and New Age mysticism.”

“Avoiding anger, pride, and temptation are also critical elements of guarding the heart. The apostle Paul instructs us, “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things” (Philippians 4:8). Dwelling on these things will help to build a guard fence around our hearts.”

Till the ground, gaurd your heart and bare fruit, 30, 60 and a hundred fold!