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 Sermon > Official Service |
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Title |
Cultivate Heart-field(6) - Cultivate Heart-field (6) |
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Speaker |
Rev. Jaerock Lee |
Bible |
Matthew 13:3-9 |
Date |
2010-04-11 |
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[Passage]
Matthew 13:3-9
[3] And He spoke many things to them in parables, saying, "Behold, the sower went out to sow; [4] and as he sowed, some seeds fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate them up. [5] "Others fell on the rocky places, where they did not have much soil; and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of soil. [6] "But when the sun had risen, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. [7] "Others fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them out. [8] "And others fell on the good soil and yielded a crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty. [9] "He who has ears, let him hear."
Introduction
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
This past winter felt unusually cold both in body and mind for most people. But as this winter passes spring will finally be coming.
We can sense the change of season more vividly in the countryside than in the city.
In spring, new sprouts come up one by one and the hills and fields put on their colors of green.
Those farmers who could have taken some rest after the fall's harvest will be busy again preparing for the new year of farming.
They repeat what they had been doing in years past.
First, they will cultivate the field to make it good to sow the seeds.
They will dig up the hardened field and soften the soil.
They will pick up the rocks and stones
They also fertilize the field.
To have abundant harvest, they have to do their best in all of these processes.
Of course, even though they do their best, they might not get a good harvest because the amounts of sunshine, wind, and rain, and the temperature may not be quite right.
That is why farmers are always nervous even though they sweat and toil in their labors.
But it's a little different when we cultivate our hearts.
If we cultivate our heart into good soil once, we will have abundant harvest every time we sow the seeds.
We will reap 100, or 60, or at least 30 times more in crops.
An abundant harvest of fruit is guaranteed, so we don't have to worry about the crops being ruined.
We don't have to cultivate the field any more.
How happy this is!
Great toil is required in the process of cultivating the field, but once we cultivate it into good soil, we can feel the joy of cultivating our heart-field.
We can always rejoice from sowing and reaping.
Is there anyone among you who just keeps the roadside-like field, the rocky field, or the thorny field that produces no fruit and suffers all the time?
If this is your case, I encourage you to try a little harder and cultivate your heart-field into good soil.
Those who have good soil will have hearts that obey whatever they hear in the Word.
Isaiah 1:19 says, "If you consent and obey, You will eat the best of the land;"
In this year, I hope you will fill your heart-field with good soil so that you can harvest beautiful fruit in spirit and body.
I pray in the name of the Lord that you will have overflowing joy from cultivating the field.
[Main]
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, what kind of field is it that has good soil?
Matthew 13:8 says, "And others fell on the good soil and yielded a crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty."
A field with good soil is one that produces abundant fruit when seeds are sown.
Namely, if they listen to the word of God, they put it into practice and produce much fruit.
Good soil doesn't have elements that hinder the crops from growing. So, the life-force in the soil will be in effect to the fullest degree.
One seed can bear fruit 100, 60, or at least 30 times more fruit.
In contrast to the roadside, rocky field, and thorny field that we have learned about so far, I will talk about the characteristics of the good soil.
You have been diligently cultivating your heart-field until now.
Listening to this message, I would like you to check how close your field is to the good soil.
First, good soil is not hard like the roadside. It is soft.
The heart of the roadside-like field is full of self-righteousness and frameworks that have been hardened over a period of time.
That is why they cannot accept the word of God in their hearts.
They doubt or pass judgment on the Word.
But unlike this roadside-like soil, the good soil is soft.
When seeds are sown in the good soil, the soft soil will embrace the seeds to be properly planted.
Also, the soil contains air and water, so the seeds can not only be planted but grow up very well.
Likewise, the heart of good soil will accept all the words of God very well.
There is no such thing as that they accept the word if they like it and they don't accept it if they don't like it.
There is no chance for the bird, namely Satan, to take away the word.
For example, the Genesis lectures that I am delivering these days contain very deep spiritual knowledge.
And how are you listening to these messages?
Most people would absorb the word like a sponge absorbs water!
Of course, the content is very deep, and it might take some time to fully understand it.
But I believe you wouldn't pass judgment on it or disbelieve it.
Because you long for spiritual realm, you rejoice more when you hear about new things and deeper things of the spiritual realm.
Even for me, there were some things that were unfamiliar to me when God explained about the things in the Bible.
But I just believed whatever God explained to me.
Even when He was telling me about the spiritual realm, which I had not heard of before, I never doubted it.
It's because I believed all the 66 books of the Bible.
If I didn't accept it just because it was unfamiliar and I couldn't understand, how would I be able to understand spiritual realm?
Psalm 119:103 says, "How sweet are Your words to my taste! Yes, sweeter than honey to my mouth!"
Those who have the heart of the good soil will make a declaration as in this Psalm above every time they hear the word of God.
I pray in the name of the Lord that this declaration will be your confession as well.
Brothers and sisters, having listened up to this part, is there anyone who thinks, "Oh, I feel that the word of God is as sweet as honey, so my heart must be close to good soil!"?
Then, I would like you to check the next points as well.
Second, the good soil does not have rocks in it.
As you have already heard, those who have rocky fields will also accept the word with joy.
Though theirs is fleshly faith, they do believe the word. But, they don't practice it.
Good soil is different from this rocky field. Those with good soil not only believe but also put it into practice.
Good soil does not have rocks, so the word will take root very quickly.
Namely, they don't have any hindrances in practicing the word they heard.
Because they don't love the world, they don't hesitate or struggle against themselves in obeying the word.
Because they don't have the untruths in heart that hinder them from practicing the truth, it's not difficult for them to practice the word.
No matter what they may hear of the Word, they only obey with 'Yes' and 'Amen'.
Even in tests, or even though they feel like they are standing at the edge of a cliff, their deeds will not change.
It's because they are happy just to obey the word.
Of whom are you reminded when you hear the word 'Yes' and 'Amen'?
2 Corinthians 1: 19 says, "For the Son of God, Christ Jesus, who was preached among you by us by me and Silvanus[sihl-VAY-nuhs] and Timothy was not yes and no, but is yes in Him."
You might think it is obvious for Jesus to obey because He is the Son of God.
But is it really so? In the physical viewpoint, Jesus' life was a continuum of situations where obedience was very difficult.
It began right from His coming down to this earth.
Jesus is one in origin with God, and He had to be born having physical body in this world.
Even during His ministry, He didn't have any privileges just because He is the Son of God.
But rather, the rules of justice were applied more strictly.
The enemy devil and Satan ceaselessly incited evil people and sought justification to kill Jesus.
When Jesus, who is the Light itself, preached the truth, those in authority persecuted Him.
But Jesus just lived by the word of God and served the souls.
He had compassion on even those who had evil thoughts and tried to teach them with the truth.
He was never shaken by any kind of threat. He just obeyed the will of God until death.
He gave Himself as an atoning sacrifice for those sinners who were crucifying Him.
As above, those with the heart of good soil will obey the word of God in any test, trial, or persecution.
For those who still have weak faith, it might look difficult to live only by the will of God.
But this is not something difficult at all.
If you just remove the rocks from your heart, it won't be difficult at all.
It's difficult to obey the word because you still have the rocks.
Suppose some government authorities were to come here and threaten my life if I did not stop the worship service, would I be shaken by it?
Would my mind be tempted if they offer me billions of dollars? I wouldn't be shaken at all.
It's because to love the Father God and the Lord is more precious than any treasure or even my life.
Such things cannot even be a test to me because there is no reason to even hesitate.
I believe most of you here have the same mind.
It's because you have been diligently removing the rocks from your heart-field.
Namely, you have cast away your love for the world and the untruths that hinder you from living by the word.
As you cast away those rocks, you will consider Heaven more precious than anything else.
If you put the word into practice, you will not only gain Heaven but you can take hold of better dwelling places in Heaven. So it is your joy to live according to the word.
Those who have good soil of the heart will practice the word with joy and then they will have abundant fruit of blessings in their lives.
These people will practice the word even more diligently in tests than when they are at comfort.
This way, they destroy the camps of the enemy devil and Satan that try to make them stumble.
In John chapter 4, when Jesus was going to Galilee from Jerusalem, His disciples urged Him to eat the food that they had brought.
But He said in John 4:34, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work.
Jesus sometimes went without eating anything.
But, even then, wouldn't He have been full and happy just by doing the will of God and accomplishing His work?
I hope you will also be happy and joyful just by practicing the word of God, regardless of the situation you are in.
I pray in the name of the Lord that you will also be full of joy because of the abundant fruit given by God when you practice His word.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, thirdly, the good soil does not have thorns.
The field of thorns is the situation where a person cannot produce crops because of the worries of the world and deceitfulness of wealth.
Even though children of God live by God's Word, they cannot harvest fruit if they still have longing for the world or greed.
They say they practice the word of God, but in fact, they cannot do it according to the will of God.
They can only utilize their fleshly thoughts in all things.
For example, when they pray to God to receive an answer to something, they will first use their own thoughts and methods if they have greed.
If they face the temptation of wealth of the world, they even interpret the word according to their desires and then act accordingly.
They say they are working for God, but if they have desire for fame, they may be working for their own glory.
So, even though they seem to be living by the word, they don't bear any spiritual or physical fruits.
Those who have the good soil of heart will obey the word of God as they hear it.
They don't utilize any of their fleshly thoughts.
Because they have cast off the fleshly mind at the root that is the source of fleshly thoughts, they cannot have any fleshly thoughts.
Because they act according to the word, they will surely bear the fruit in every aspect.
When they fulfill some duties, they will accomplish everything beautifully and give glory to God.
If they are taking care of other souls, they will bear the fruit of evangelism and save many souls.
If they work for God with their body, He gives them health. If they give their monetary offering, He repays them 30, 60, or 100 times more.
Of course, practicing the word of God cannot just be done without any thinking.
Matthew 13:23 says, "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."
As said, those with good soil will understand the heart of God contained in the word they hear.
They obey God and they understand His will in everything.
They can discern the will of God clearly and hear the voice of the Holy Spirit clearly because they don't have any flesh in their minds.
Also, they do everything to the glory of God, whether they eat, drink, or whatever they do.
For this reason, they can bear abundant fruit as they sow and act.
The heart of good soil is a heart such as this.
In the next session, I will talk to you about three things that we need to do in order to cultivate our heart into good soil.
[Conclusion]
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, when God commanded Abram, "Go forth from your country, and from your relatives and from your father's house, to the land which I will show you," he just obeyed.
But what if he made up his mind to leave, but gave up later thinking, "All I have accomplished in this placed will be wasted!"
Or, if he had left his father's home and was going the way God showed him, but he liked another direction and changed the course mid-way, what would have happened?
When God commanded him to offer his only son Isaac, what if he couldn't obey because he cherished his son so much?
Then the genealogy of faith would have been different.
Instead of his name, Abraham, another person's name would have been mentioned as the Forefather of faith.
Abraham could obey God completely because he came forth as good soil. And through him the chosen nation of God was formed.
Abraham became a true child of God who shines like the sun in Heaven, and he received overflowing blessings on earth.
Just like God the Father called Abraham, He has also called you at this important time.
He also wants you to come forth as good soil and bear abundant fruit.
Now, how far have you come in this march of faith?
Have you surely left your country, your father's household?
Do you always say 'Yes' and 'Amen' to the word?
Or, do you still feel you have so much more to go?
Even so, the length of the journey can be shortened depending on how you make up your mind.
I pray in the name of the Lord that you will make up your mind firmly and give God beautiful fruits from good soil, 30, 60, or 100 times more than what you have sown.
[Amen] |
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