THE ISSUES THAT CHOKE THE WORD OF GOD IN PEOPLE’S LIVES (2)
Matthew 13:18-23 (AMPC)
“18 Listen then to the [meaning of the] parable of the sower:
19 While anyone is hearing the Word of the kingdom and does not grasp and comprehend it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the roadside.
20 As for what was sown on thin (rocky) soil, this is he who hears the Word and at once welcomes and accepts it with joy;
21 Yet it has no real root in him, but is temporary (inconstant, lasts but a little while); and when affliction or trouble or persecution comes on account of the Word, at once he is caused to stumble [he is repelled and begins to distrust and desert Him Whom he ought to trust and obey] and he falls away.
22 As for what was sown among thorns, this is he who hears the Word, but the cares of the world and the pleasure and delight and glamour and deceitfulness of riches choke and suffocate the Word, and it yields no fruit.
23 As for what was sown on good soil, this is he who hears the Word and grasps and comprehends it; he indeed bears fruit and yields in one case a hundred times as much as was sown, in another sixty times as much, and in another thirty.
Dear people of God, in our first post on this topic using the Holy Bible Parable of the sower as reference, we saw the meaning and examined in detail the seed that fell along the ground as the sower moved.
Today, we are looking at the second kind of persons and how they respond to God’s Word in their lifestyle.
Let us look at Matthew 13:20-21, “As for what was sown on thin (rocky) soil, this is he who hears the Word and at once welcomes and accepts it with joy;
21 Yet it has no real root in him, but is temporary (inconstant, lasts but a little while); and when affliction or trouble or persecution comes on account of the Word, at once he is caused to stumble [he is repelled and begins to distrust and desert Him Whom he ought to trust and obey] and he falls away.”
Unlike the first case that refers to unbelievers and backslidden believers, today’s case refers to some believers and their response to God’s Word.
A critical observation of Christians in Church reveals the joy with which they receive God’s Word and their high level of faith.
However, when they step out of church, a number of them fail to act as God’s Word tells us in Romans 10:17 (NKJV), “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.”
Where the Christian fails to expose himself constantly to the Word of God and limits it to just Sundays when he goes to church, he cannot be rooted in God’s Word outside the church where he spends more time.
In Church, he may spend between 4-5 hours at the most depending on the Church fellowship he attends. However, when he steps out of the church service and fails to study and meditate on God’s Word, he spends another 163 hours of the rest of that week doing his own stuff before he returns to God’s house for fellowship the next Sunday.
Surely, such a person would stumble at the slightest persecution on account of God’s Word. He has no understanding that God has said in Psalm 91:9-10 (NKJV), “Because you have made the Lord, who is my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place,
10 No evil shall befall you, Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling.
Now, I want you to note here that persecution on account of the Word or the Gospel is different from attack by the evil one referred to in Psalm 91:9-10 above.
The Bible tells us in 2 Timothy 3:12(AMPC), “Indeed all who delight in piety and are determined to live a devoted and godly life in Christ Jesus will meet with persecution [will be made to suffer because of their religious stand].”
So God has warned Christians beforehand that they would suffer persecution on account of their faith, loyalty, union and submission to the Lord Jesus Christ, the Word of God.
It should therefore not come as a surprise to any serious minded Christian who knows God’s Word that he must remain firm in his belief in Christ no matter what the devil throws at him on account of the Gospel.
In fact, see what the Lord Jesus Christ says about those who stand firm when they are persecuted because of their love for Him (Christ and His Word) in Matthew 5:11-12, “Blessed (happy, to be envied, and spiritually prosperous–with life-joy and satisfaction in God's favour and salvation, regardless of your outward conditions) are you when people revile you and persecute you and say all kinds of evil things against you falsely on My account.
12 Be glad and supremely joyful, for your reward in heaven is great (strong and intense), for in this same way people persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
Dear friend, what is your stand in Christ? Are you a nominal Sunday-only Christian or are you one who takes time to study to know God’s Word and your right in Christ Jesus the Messiah?
It is in your own interest that you take time to know God and what He commands and expects of us so that nobody and no adverse situation on account of God’s Word would make you fall away, deny and offend God.
May the good Lord bless you as you heed His Word today, act on it and share with others in Jesus’ Most Merciful Name, Amen.
Gabriel Ama.
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