Worry and anxiety are almost a natural part of life, aren’t they? Worry is so common, even among believers, that we’ve forgotten that it’s actually a sin. Worry/anxiety distracts us from our Christian mission. It deprives us of energy and joy. It veils Christ’s Lordship. It leaves us hopeless and adrift in a world desperately needing hope.
As we consider the third kind of soil we again need to note that this person receives the Word. They may call themselves ‘Christian’. They may, as with the rocky soil, go through certain Christian motions. They may speak like a Christian, act like a Christian for quite some time.
But look at vs 19 closely.
but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.
The weedy soil person puts the concerns of this life above his/her walk with the Lord. There’s always too much to fix, too many things to do, too many exciting alternatives to spending time with the Lord and to do His work. There’s so little time in a day and so many things that have to be done that this person just never gets to God. God is always on the bottom of the list. God is always tacked onto the end of the day. God is…, in reality, ignored. Other things are just too important.
Hear this truth very carefully. If you sense that this is your life or if you feel as though you are rocky soil, you are probably not saved. If you are not bearing fruit (and Jesus makes it clear that the person of rocky or weedy soil doesn’t bear fruit) then you are probably at present hell bound. You need to take a drastic look at your life. You need to repent and believe in Jesus. You need a dramatic reorganisation of your life.
If you were to die tonight as weedy soil, as rocky soil, you would be in desperate straights, probably staring at an eternity separated from God. Do something about it now, before it’s too late.
Now these are harsh words aren’t they? And you may be feeling angry towards me, right? Well think of it as a doctor warning you that you have terminal cancer. Life saving surgery is available but it’s radical. It’s 100% effective and guaranteed to work but you have to take it. If you refuse you will die. Sin, a lack of fruit bearing, being rocky soil or weed soil, is terminal cancer. It will kill you and send you directly to hell. But there is a 100% guaranteed cure. You can take radical surgery.
Surgery begins with believing that Jesus died on the cross for your sins and was raised to life for your justification. Surgery involves giving your entire life (every inch of it, including money, assets, time, energy, body, thoughts, eyes and so on) to Christ and choosing to serve Him. In effect, you bind yourself to Christ and commit to doing what He wants you to do, not what you want to do. Surgery means asking God for forgiveness and handing over the controls to Christ.
But rest assured, when you turn to Christ the cancer of sin is fully removed. God cancels your sin and credits righteousness (the perfect righteousness of Christ) to your account. When you turn to Christ, God lavishes you with His forgiveness and love. He adopts you permanently into His family as a beloved son.
Prayer:-
- Pray that God would grow fruit in your life. Pray that you would be in a congregation that bears much fruit. Ask the Lord to convict the people in your congregation about the type of soil that they are and pray for receptive hearts willing to turn to Jesus in repentance and faith as necessary.
- Pray that our brothers and sisters in Myanmar would courageously proclaim the need to repent and believe to all who would listen. Pray that the college students would be strengthened in their resolve and grown in their ability to preach the word without fear or intimidation.
Do It Today
Find a quiet place to sit with God, alone. Read the parable of the soils again.
Spend time asking God to show you what type of soil you are and, if need be, how you can change.
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