Mile Markers for Spiritual Growth

Peter had determined to remind those he is writing, of the basics. So he began with the knowledge of God and of Jesus Christ; and how that knowledge leads to spiritual growth. Now he continues with the mile markers, which come along the path to Spiritual Maturity. This is how you know you are going the right way.

2 Peter 1:5 “And beside this , giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue, knowledge;”

Faith is the foundation of our spiritual life. We are justified by faith (Romans 5:1).
But our faith is also to grow. As Peter says here, it is to be added to.
2 Thessalonians 1:3 “We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is meet because that your faith groweth exceedingly, and the charity of every one of you all toward each other aboundeth:”

Virtue is to be added to faith. Virtue here is Artea or force. Virtue is the force of the Holy Spirit within you; the power of the Holy Spirit having freedom to influence and help.
Basically, by faith in God and His Word, we are to yield to the Holy Spirit’s direction and correction; and know the liberty that force within us gives us. To know that God knows all; and has chosen this way, at this time, is very liberating. It is to see the mile marker that says: He has guided me in the right way, and taken care of me so far; why should I fear what is coming next? My welfare is always before Him; why should I look for another way?

And when we have virtue, we get knowledge. This knowledge is the knowledge of what He will do for me.
What He has done in the Bible; great.
What He has and will do for me, personally; wonderful! This knowledge, stabilizes our hearts and minds in adversity, as well as good times.

Can you see us getting stronger in the Lord, by this path?

2 Peter 1:6 “And to knowledge, temperance; and to temperance, patience; and to patience, godliness;”

And to this knowledge, we grow into moderation. We’ve come to the place where we know God will take care of us; so we need not try and get more than He gives, or hate the fact others have “more” than we do.

And as we are temperate, we begin to exercise patience.
And this is how we possess our souls.
Luke 21:19 “In your patience possess ye your souls.”
As we come to this mile marker, we realize how much of ourselves we know. How much of ourselves we can now master. And how much of ourselves we have yielded to the Holy Spirit.

To patience, godliness.
This mile marker comes as our character is taking the shape of the character of Christ.
He came to save us, we should seek the salvation of others.
This is where we “Let your light so shine before men, that they many see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16)

2 Peter 1:7 “And to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, charity.(love).”

To godliness, the mile marker is brotherly kindness. How much do you love your “brother”?
1 John 1:10-11 “He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him.
But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes.”

And to brotherly kindness, charity or love.
1 John 4:16-17 “And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love, and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.
Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgement: because as he is , so are we in this world.”

When we reach this mile marker in our journey toward Spiritual maturity, our affections are influenced by the Holy Spirit, and our thoughts are regulated by His good pleasure.
What liberty is this! To be free from the influences of the world’s anger and bitterness; and to follow Christ with joy.

Paul and Silas in Jail

A little background:
Paul and Silas were on a missionary trip, when Paul received a vision.

Acts 16:9 “And a vision appeared to Paul in the night; There stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Come over into Macedonia, and help us.”

So they went “immediately”. Once there, they went to Philippi, which was the chief city.
There they stayed for several days, but on the Sabbath they went to the river side, and spoke to the women who had gathered to pray.

One woman was born again and baptized, and she opened her house to us, so we had a place to stay.

As we were going to prayer, a demon possessed girl, who could tell fortunes; began to follow us, crying out, “These men are the servants of the most high God, which show unto us the way of salvation.”
This she did for several days.

Perhaps to some, this might seem good publicity.
But not to Paul, who was grieved that the gospel was shouted about like a piece of meat.
Also, that they were spoken about.
The gospel is about Christ.

Yes, there is a “way of salvation”, but cried out like that, made it seem cheap. “Give me a coin and I will show you what to do.”

That was her line.
Not God’s.

So…
Paul turned:
Acts 16:18 “And this she did many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus to come out of her. And he came out the same hour.”

Her masters, who got money from her predictions, were furious.
They grabbed Paul and Silas, and brought them before the magistrates, in the market.

With a false accusation, and no chance of defense; Paul and Silas were given over to being beaten; and jailed.

Acts 16:23-24 “And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailer to keep them safely:
Who having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks.”

Not at all a good result, it would seem. They were beaten and put into a filthy, small space with their feet in wooden stocks.

But…
Paul and Silas, beaten and sore; were not going to stop seeking God’s Will.
They had been sent there, and so now they needed to know whether what Paul had done about this demonic girl was the right thing to do.
Or just his idea, because he disliked what she said.

Acts 16:25 “And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.”

First they prayed. Maybe groaned more than prayed. Yet God heard them.

When they had heard that it was God’s Will, then they sang praises unto God.
There was no stifling the Holy Spirit, here. They prayed, then praised Him for these circumstances. Power, real power to praise rose within their hearts and spilled over into song.

They had preached to many people. They had come to the place God sent them. They had preached and led some to Christ Jesus.
And they had done what they should, about this girl.
This was still God’s Will; Hallelujah!

Acts 16:26-27 “And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundation of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s bands were loosed.
And the keeper of the prison wakening out of his sleep, and seeing the doors open, drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled.”

The glory of God, and His power came down to them in that prison.
They sang.
There was an earthquake. It opened all the doors.
When the doors opened, not one of the prisoners escaped! They were all there.
But the real power was in their praise.
It took beaten, sad men, and turned them into praising, joyful peacemakers.

Acts 16:28-30 “But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here.
Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas.
And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

The power was also there for the jailer. He would have killed himself, for if those in his charge were missing, Rome would have killed him anyway; and if he killed himself, his family might be spared.

Acts 16:32-33 “And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house.
And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, and all his, straightway.”

When the Holy Spirit is not quenched; power is the result.
Power for you, and through you, to others.

Paul and Silas were badly treated, jailed.
But both praised God for the opportunity to suffer for Him.
And by that praise, power was given to bring other souls to Christ.

The next day the magistrates told the keeper to let them go.
But Paul said, No, for they have beaten us publicly, and we are Romans, and now they want to let us go privately? No, let them come and let us out themselves.
Romans had rights: they could not be accused without a hearing, or beaten, uncondemned.
Paul and Silas had been rushed into prison; and beaten at the whim of these magistrates.
Now Paul speaks, not in anger, but for justice. He could have had these magistrates judged, but instead required them to personally see to their release.
And they came, themselves, and let them out.

God’s Power, for the Christian, is first in us, working joy and peace, and guidance.
Then it is through us, by the influence of the Holy Spirit, to others to show them Christ.

“..If any man will..; or Whosoever will…”

Let us talk of Jesus’ invitation: “If any man will…”

Have you ever come to the conforming of your will to God’s revealed will?

It is stated by our Lord Jesus to His disciples: If any man will.
He says there is a choice involved. It is not something that is forced upon us. No, Jesus said, If any man will; therefore you can say “no” to the act of bringing your will into conformity to God’s will.

And those who are born again, are the ones who can make that choice in reality; for they are the only ones who are enabled to know and do God’s will.

Philippians 2:13 “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.”

Jesus said:
Matthew 16:24-25 “Then said Jesus unto his disciples, IF ANY MAN WILL come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me.
For WHOSOEVER WILL save his life will lose it: and WHOSOEVER WILL lose his life for my sake shall find it.”

Here, in Matthew, Jesus is talking to his disciples. He states the requirements for discipleship.
“IF” they were going to be His disciples, then they must choose (for it is always a choice) to deny their self-lives, and follow Him into every circumstance (some very unpleasant) that He leads them in.
The cross is the individual’s choice to give up to Christ, in that moment (this can not be done once for all), his “rights”, or plans, or attitudes, etc.(You get the idea).

You see Jesus was telling them that to be His disciples in this world, was not an easy path leading to accolades, and position.
(Remember, that is why the Chief Priests and Pharisees plotted to kill Jesus, they did not want to give up their “place”.
John 11: 47-48 “Then gathered the chief priests and Pharisees a counsel, and said, What do we? For this man doeth many miracles.
If we let him thus alone, all men will believe on him; and the Romans shall come and take away our place and nation.”)

No, to be His disciple, was a path which would lead to greater knowledge and communion with Him. (If that was what they wanted, and plainly to walk a little way with Christ, is to want to know Him more, then they would be blessed in that knowledge, with joy, peace, love, etc. It was an exciting and blessed path, but only if you love Jesus Christ)

If you want the world and Heaven, too. You will never be a true disciple of Christ.

If you want to follow Christ wherever that leads, you are choosing discipleship.

A disciple is one who has voluntarily placed himself under the discipline of his Master.
For us, our Master is Jesus Christ, who not only commands, but takes us by the hand and leads, helps, strengthens, encourages, and empowers for what He leads us into.

The same is stated in: (only here He is talking to all the people that were following Him, as well)
Mark 8:34-35 “And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, WHOSOEVER WILL come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
For WHOSOEVER WILL save his life shall lose it; but WHOSOEVER WILL lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it.”

Luke 9:23-24 “And he said to them all, IF ANY MAN WILL come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow me.
For WHOSOEVER WILL save his life shall lose it; but WHOSOEVER WILL lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.”

The life we lose is our life in ourselves.
You know that the life inside of you is often VERY different than the one you show to everyone.
You may look happy and carefree to people; while there are depressing thoughts, or anger and resentment inside.
Your desires may rule your heart and mind, but you continue to show everyone (you think) that you are in control.

If you are in these situations, and you are a Christian; Christ has made provision for you for true liberty….If any man will.

Revelation 22:17 “And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And WHOSOEVER WILL, let him take the water of life freely.”

There are a lot of “And”s here. That is because Christ is stressing to those in this world yet, that He has not left them without a means of everything they need.
First, it is to “Come”.
No problem can be solved if you stay away from Christ.

Second, it is to hear Christ words, or the Bible. If you are not reading, because you say you can not understand it; then say “come, and explain it to me”. And He will.

Third, it is to recognize your “thirst”. In what is your desire? Just get honest here, He knows anyway. But if you can, say it out loud, alone with God, you will be amazed how much you “see”. (when you willingly come and admit your need.)

Fourth, it is to take, freely. But it is to take of the water of life. That is the refreshing communion of the Holy Spirit within, bubbling up into true life; Christ’s life within you, and the power for you, that He brings.

This happens, when you come to Christ. The invitation is IF ANY MAN WILL, or WHOSOEVER WILL.

The Greatest Need for our Day is a Return to First Principles

We need the power and authority of the first church.

They had it by being of one accord.

Acts 5:12 “And by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the people; (and they were all with one accord in Solomon’s porch. “

Acts 2:46 “And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,”

To be of one  accord is to be in harmony with the Lord.     For the accord is the Lord’s accord, or harmony.

You can hear it when someone is out of harmony in a choir.   Someone singing either out of tune,  or trying to sing a solo in the group.

It is the same way with God’s Purpose for us.   We can surrender to His Will:  that is like being in the choir.

O.K.  You are ready to harmonize.

But we also need to submit to His Way of bringing His Will to pass,   in this circumstance.

Have you ever found yourself knowing that you should say or do something;  but are unsure how to do it?

This is to know “how to”.   It is to rest assured by submission to what He wants,  that He will show us:  when we should,  and also what exactly what we should do.  He will give us the words:  often He has brought verses to mind, and the testimony of what those have meant to me.

And He will give us the time.

This is finding your pitch and tune in the harmonizing of God’s Will.

Being “in tune” with the Holy Spirit within you,  you are placed in the flow of God’s Music;  and led into the joy and peace, within.   And the power of the Lord’s accord in your life.

The Peace of God

Philippians 4:7 “And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

The word “keep” here means to protect, to garrison.

That is what God’s peace does for us. It protects our hearts, which are our emotions. (How often they run away with us!)

And it protects our minds, which are our thoughts, both random and reasoned.

His peace puts us in a strong place, where things don’t upset us; or hurt us, like they usually do.
His peace gives us rest of mind; not panic or wild imaginations of what could happen.

But it is His peace. We very often have none of our own.
But He comes and speaks to us, calming our fears; and delivering us by His protection.

It passes all our understanding, for we can try and reason away bad thoughts or anger….but it usually does not work.
But, when we let His peace come, we know real power and rest in the situation.

He has it for us; He says:
Philippians 4:6 “Be careful for nothing (do not worry);
but in everything (yes, everything, big and little)
by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.”
He hears and gives us His peace. Just talk to Him, and receive His peace, and praise Him for it.

Trials of Faith

1 Peter 4:12-13 “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:
But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.”

There are trials of faith which we just have to go through. They are sent to help us to grow stronger in faith; to learn joy in trouble; to realize the power of peace—His peace in it all.
Thank goodness, we do not go through any trial alone. For Christ Jesus is with us, guiding, strengthening, and encouraging us; as we walk through them with Him.

There are also trials which come upon us which we have brought on ourselves.
Let’s face it, we often “stick our foot in our mouths” and say things which are wrong.
Either in anger (and have you ever noticed how much anger is around any more?), or we blurt our our opinion, when discretion would have kept us silent.
Sometimes the Lord uses these trials to remind us of these things, so they can be confessed, and taken care of.
These, of course, are to be confessed to Christ, and if any one was injured, to the person involved; as you can. (How many blessings come from letting people know you, too, are human, and make mistakes?)

And then there are “fiery trials” which come upon us because we are Christians—we belong to Jesus Christ.

1 Peter 4:14, 16 “If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the Spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you; on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified.
Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.”

Fiery trials? Partakers of Christ’s sufferings?
We do not like to think of such things.

We like to think about what He has done for me. Tell us about His Eternal Love for me, His suffering in the garden of Gethsemane or on the Cross for me, or His agony of prayer for me.
All the things He did, but I do not want to hear about what I am to do.

Doesn’t that make it a works salvation?

No, we can never do anything for Christ to get our Salvation; but we can work for Christ because we are saved.

And that is what He says: Stand with me, and go through these trials, with Me at your side, to show to the world that you trust Me.
That will glorify Me.

Do you remember when Jesus asked His disciples in the garden to watch with Him? (Mark 14:33-34, 37-38)
And instead they fell asleep.
He came and asked, “Could you not stay with me one hour?”

He asks us the same thing: Stand with me in a world that does not believe in Me, and if that brings ridicule, or persecution; still stand with Me, and I will stand with you.

Always to Pray

Luke 18:1 “ And he(Jesus)spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;”

To faint means to weaken in purpose.

In other words, we are to continue to pray, and not give up the purpose of our prayers, even when they are not answered right away.

Then He tells this story:
Luke 18:2-3 “…There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man:

And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary.”

Here are the two persons involved in Jesus parable:

A judge, who could do what he wanted in his court. (Probable a Roman judge, because Jewish judges were in threes). Who cared about no one’s opinion; not God’s or man’s.

And a widow, who was usually the poorest and lowest of the decent people in the city. She would have no family to speak for her, no money to bribe this judge; so she did what she could do to get relief from the one who was harassing her.
She asked this judge to “Avenge her”. This would have been like a restraining order today. Something to keep him from do damage to her.

This is like prayer?
Yes, for we shall see, she prevailed, not because of the kindness of the judge….he had none.
Not because she had influential friends…she did not.

But because she kept coming back and asking him, and asking him, and asking him.

Luke 18:4-5 “And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, though I fear not God, nor regard man;
Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.”

This “weary” here, means that she might ruin his reputation. Since he cared for no one, but himself; he answered her request because of selfish motives.
He did not want her to make him look bad, by being in his court so often.

So he gave her that restraining order against her adversary, just to get rid of her.

Christ Jesus says that God shall avenge His people, when they pray the same way: with diligence for an answer.

Luke 18:7-8 “And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them?
I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?”

To stay after God for our prayers, shows we really want what we ask.
And that we believe He will answer us. That is faith, for it holds on to God for an answer.

Christ Jesus honors faith in Him. (And again, faith holds on to God.)
For faith honors God.

In this world of troubles (and who can say they do not have some), Jesus says we are “always to pray, and not to faint”.

Hang on to Me, He says; I hear, and will avenge or restrain your Adversary….if you ask Me.

The Means of Victory: Pray, Believe and Praise

2 Chronicles 20:1 “It came to pass after this also, that the children of Moab, and the children of Ammon, and with them other…came against Jehoshaphat to battle.”

Now Jehoshaphat was a godly king of Judah.
And so when he heard of their coming to war with them, he feared; but sought the Lord.

2 Chronicles 20:3 “ And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.”

He knew that his small country could not stand against the superior numbers and warriors of these.
But He knew God could save them.

2 Chronicles 20:6, 12 “And said, O Lord God of our fathers, art thou not God in heaven? And rulest not thou over all the kingdoms of the heathen? And in thine hand is there not power and might, so that none is able to withstand thee?
O our God, wilt thou not judge them? For we have no might against this great company that cometh against us; neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon thee.”

As they were praying and seeking God’s help; The Holy Spirit gave them direction through one that stood seeking:

(2Chronicles 20:15-17) “….Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God’s.
Tomorrow go ye down against them: behold, they come up by the cliff of Ziz; and ye shall find them at the end of the brook, before the wilderness of Jeruel.
Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the Lord with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them: for the Lord will be with you.”

They knew they would have to go out and face the enemy; but the Lord said He would be with them, and fight for them.
They all started worshipping, and thanking God for it!

2 Chronicles 20:20-21 “And they rose early in the morning, and went forth into the wilderness…: and as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, O Judah,…; Believe in the Lord your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper.
And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto the Lord, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the Lord; for His mercy endureth forever.”

Notice Jehoshaphat did not stay in Jerusalem, but led his people.

Also notice, when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers. They all wanted to praise God, even before the actual victory.

And what was the battle?
It was the Lord’s. For He caused two of the armies to unite against the third army; destroying it.
Then He had them turn on each other!

2 Chronicles 20:22-23 “And when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord sent ambushments against…which were come against Judah; and they were smitten.
For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of mount Seir, utterly to slay and destroy them: and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of mount Seir, everyone helped to destroy another.”

Judah did not have to fight at all.

2 Chronicles 20:24 “And when Judah came toward the watchtower in the wilderness, they looked unto the multitude, Behold, they were dead bodies fallen to the earth, and none escaped.”

Four days later, after taking the spoil of the armies that came to destroy them, they gathered in the same Valley.
They renamed it “Berachah”, or Blessing.

2 Chronicles 20:26-28 “And on the fourth day they assembled themselves in the valley of Berachah; for there they blessed the Lord:…
Then they returned,…to go again to Jerusalem with joy; for the Lord had made them to rejoice over their enemies.
And they came to Jerusalem with psalteries and harps and trumpets unto the house of the Lord.”

Jehoshaphat was a godly king, but even godly people have enemies.
And God was sought after and found of them.

We, too, can seek the Lord and His help when we are in fear of being overcome.
Whether by enemies, troubles, or fear itself.

We are to pray, looking to Him for the help.
We are to believe Him.
And we are to praise Him for the help He sends. What ever way He sends.

He is the means of Victory in our lives; and He has appointed prayer and belief and praise to go before us into the battle.

Reality
The Faithful and True Witness, Jesus Christ, says that Laodicea lacks reality.

Revelation 3:17 “Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:”

They are, in fact, not what they say they are.

But why? They might have a head knowledge of the Word of God, the Bible.

2 Timothy 2:6 “The husbandman that laboreth must be first partaker of the fruits.”

Here is where a great deal of the problem is.
The Lord’s husbandman: those He puts over His local churches, have not the fruit of the Spirit, in their lives, as they should.
They, therefore, can not pass on what they do not have.

Doctrine, sound doctrine, must be taught, and preached.
But it is only doctrine appropriated into their own lives, that counts.
If they have the experience that they are preaching or teaching on; then the Holy Spirit will honor them and their word.
If they do not, then the word might be honored, as a good lesson; but the real power is lacking, and it falls short of what the Lord wants to give. (For He has so much He wants for us)

Head knowledge will give a mental agreement with certain facts.
But it is the apprehension of those same facts in our experience that will save us, and set us free!

Example: I used to ask the Lord, “Why?” a lot. Why did this happen? Why does that not happen?
He let me: sometimes explaining; sometimes telling me to just trust.
But finally, He “explained”, that I was not a child; and I was to do what He wanted without explanation.

(Real Obedience is to a person, or a cause; not just because it is reasonable.)

I actually thought He did not mean it. (Boy, was I wrong)
He began to deal with me every time I asked why; till it got to the point that it even hurt to think why!

I confessed my childishness, and rebellion; and stopped asking.

And something wonderful happened: I had peace. I had joy.

I had not had them when I was asking for reasons. But I did now.

That experience showed me that God is Very Personal.

That He “put up with” me for a while is amazing.

Yet when He said this was not to be anymore, He showed me something more amazing: He was to be trusted….how much do we really do that?

For HIs peace in the everyday trials, and His joy is of so much more value than the reasons I was trusting in.

To hear God is Trustworthy is one thing; to experience it is another.

The Lord wants all His children to experience all He has for us: His love, His peace (and it does pass understanding…keeping our hearts and minds), His joy.

He calls us to a life open to and receptive to Him.

Revelation 3:20 “Behold I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come into him, and will sup with him, and he with Me.”

The “door” that we open is the door of our lives. Open to Him and His fellowship.

The ground of our Heart
Luke 8:5 “A sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it.”

Today we are going to talk about the ground of our hearts. All ground is not the same.
Some, is prepared ground: cultivated, ready for the seed and growth.
Some is hard, for it has been traveled on. The feet of many have walked over it, so it is hard and unable to receive the seed, without a lot of work.

Which ground are we?
Let us consider the Lord’s parable:

Luke 8:5 “A sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it.”

Here is one of the hard ground hearers. They have been beside the field, but are not part of it. There has been no making the ground ready for the Word. When the word of God comes in the seed, the ground does not receive it. The Word sits on top of the heart.
Luke 8:11-12 “Now the parable is this: the seed is the word of God.
Those by the wayside are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.”

In other words, the heart hears the word, but pays no attention to the serious warnings about sin , or the Gospel of good news.
The devil is very glad for these people. He has no trouble taking the word from their hearts, and making it disappear in their memories. They have had a life where everything that has happen to them, makes them hard against the world, people, circumstances. Nothing will make them yield. They are defiant against all, though they may appear very smooth. These are the people who hear the Word, but nothing changes, because the Word of God can not sink into their hearts so they could believe, and be saved.

Luke 8:6 “And some fell upon rock; and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away, because it lacked moisture.”
This is the ground that has stones in it. Since it is part of the field, it gets seed, and it springs up! But then the roots come against the stones and become unable to grow. They soon die.

Luke 8:13 “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.”
This ground is the hearts of those who, having heard of the Gospel of Salvation, are overjoyed! Their minds are understanding the Word, and all it’s promises, and are ready to go forward in the Christian Life. Or so they think.
Until there are problems, and temptations.(These are things which say, “You want me. I am really great, greater than what God is giving you). And as Christians we have the same problems and temptations, as everyone else. The difference is in the presence of the Holy Spirit within us for guidance; and the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) encouraging us through the difficulties.

But when the decisions to stand with God come, the Stoney ground hearers, give up. Their minds had received it, making their hearts joyful. But now it was time, for the hearts affection for Christ Jesus, to hold fast. But there was no real affection for Christ; only joy at the promises the Word gave, for themselves.

Luke 8:7 “And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprang up with it, and choked it.”
Here is the ground which is cultivated, but not all the weeds and thorns were out of it, when it was. They are there, though not seen, when the seed is sown. When the seed springs up, so do the thorns.

Luke 8:14 “And that which fell among thorns are they, which when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with the cares, and riches, and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection.”
These are the hearts which have hidden resentments, lusts or worries. They are ready to receive an answer for their problems. So when the Word of God comes, promising a NEW LIFE, they jump at it.
They are so anxious to get started with this life, that they “go forth”, eager to tell others of a change in life.
But then, their hidden resentments, or lusts, or worries come to the front, again; and they wonder why they are not different?
The truth is they have never received Christ Jesus as Lord and Savior. They have received the word about the new life–yes, but not the person of the Savior. And when you receive Christ, His Holy Spirit comes to live and empower us .
Our old life, or flesh is to be subjected to Christ.

Galatians 5:16-17, 24 “This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other; so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.”

Therefore the old life choked out the Word, and they never truly had that new life promised: in Christ Jesus.

Luke 8:8 “And other fell on good ground, and sprang up, and bear fruit one hundred fold. And when he had said these things he cried, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.”
The ground which is good ground, bears fruit. It too, had been prepared by cultivation, but the difference being: fruit.
And the reason for the difference is:

Luke 8:15 “And 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.”

An honest heart.

We are what we are by circumstances, birth, place, and the people around us, who have shaped us.
But when the Word of God comes, and we receive the Lord Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, then all that we are, comes under the rule of Christ. We are to get honest about our past hates, likes, loves, and circumstances; giving all these things to Christ.
And in honesty, we are to do what He wants us to do. Seek to yield to the peace of the Holy Spirit, the patience, and long-suffering for others, that He wants us to do.
The “keeping” of the Word, is holding on to Him in love. And what He has given us by His Spirit, and in His Word, and believing He will see to us.
We bring forth the fruit of the Spirit. (Galatians 5:22-23). And that helps us grow and bring forth more fruit…the fruit of a Christian, which is another Christian.

Which ground are we? Jesus said, He that has ears to hear, let him hear.