Parable of the Sower - What kinds of soil are you?

Date: Sunday 13th March 2005
By: Ghee Seng Teo

Bible verses: Matthew 13:3-23

The parable speaks of the condition of our hearts which could be one of the four at a particular moment of our life when responding to God's words.

• Along the path - with God's words with contempt
  
• Shallow Soil - understand God's in a self-beneficial way
  
• Thorny Soil - unwilling to denial self
  
• Good Soil - understand and accept God's words as they are

God's desire is that our heart should be of the Good Soil. We can go from any types of those soils to a Good Soil when we are willing:

If you are Along the path: you need to take heeds and treat God's words seriously. Do not along the words come in from the left ear and and leaves from the right ear.

If you are Shallow Soil: you need to persevere when troubles and persecutions come for the difference between you and the Good Soil is that, the Good Soil just lasted a bit longer. You need to endure your sufferring by fixing your eyes and hope on the Lord and also to grow in the truth.

If you are Thorny Soil: where your source of troubles came from within. The worries of this life and deceutfulness of wealth choked us of any spiritual growth. It is like wireframed on a tree stem, the tree will never grow beyond certain size. But the Lord taught us not to worry about what to eat (good foods), what to wear (brand names), not to store up treasures (finances) in this world. (Matthew 6:19-34). Let us have our hope on Him.

If you are Good Soil: be sure to grow in multiplicity, 100 folds, 60 folds, 30 folds. For a seed has to die before it can grow abundantly.

Servant of God - Thoughts 1

Date: Sunday 27th Feb 2005
By: Ghee Seng Teo

Ephesians 2:10 "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."

We are God's workmanship like the clay in the porter's hands. He is to mould, build, shape us in Christ Jesus and to do good works during the process. Through Jesus' death on the cross, we are considered righteous, but His continuos saving grace is to touch, move, change and transform us into the likeness of Chirst.

To do the good works that God prepared is to serve Him. To be a servant of God there are a number of attitudes that we need to develop.

(1) Not afraid of Troubles
Luke 10:30-35 spoke of the good samaritan who had gone through lots of troubles to help one who had been robbed. We are to be of the same heart attitude too. For indeed if everyone are afraid of troubles then:
- No one would have bothered to preach the Gospel to you and I
- No one would have preached the Gospel to our parents
- The missionaries would not have gone to China
- The Apostle Paul would not have stayed away from far places like Rome or Spain
- The Lord Jesus would have stayed in heaven

We know therefore to serve the Lord to do good works, not afraid of troubles is essential.

(2) Not to ever give up
Luke 11:5-8 spoke of the persistent we ought to have in prayers. Likewise we serve the Lord the same level of persistent and perservance are required. If Nehemiah has given up, he would not have achieved the restoration of the wall. If we have given us, many more people that we know may not get to know the Lord!

(3) Not to live for I but Christ
Just like the Lord Jesus came to serve and gave his life as a ransom for many. Let the 'I' become 'C'hrist in our life. Let not live our lives based on other people's expectation. Let not live our lives hinged on other's criticisms. Let not luve our lives driven my our own's understanding. Rather we are to live a life according to the desires and will of the Lord.

Hebrews 12:2 "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."

When the Lord Jesus went to the cross, he saw only the joy of all people returning to God and found meaning and purpose in the life starting from this life into eternity. Hence He willingly endured the pain, the shame of the cross. (c.f. a mother endures the gaining of weight, the pain of child bearing yet she is joyful as she looks forwards to the birth of a new life). Let us be likewise as the Lord is.