Our Heart’s Condition

Our Heart’s Condition

The Parable of the Sower is familiar to most Bible readers.

The Sower (representing Jesus Christ) sows the seed of the Gospel) scatters His seed indiscriminately over the earth, without regard to whether the place the seed is receptive to it, or not. He gives every kind of soil a chance to be fruitful.

The central idea of this parable is that the soil (representing the human heart) either has the capacity to receive the seed and be fruitful, or it does not. That is the core issue here.

You see the seed is how God initiates a relationship with men and women. It is all about the seed. Jesus is the sower and he scatters the seed of the Gospel to everyone. If this seed finds an entrance in the human heart, He can establish a connection – a relationship with the, Once he does that he can begin transforming their lives.

If, however, something comes between and prevents that seed from gaining entrance, that man or woman is prevented from having a meaningful relationship with God. It is all about the seed, (God’s Word), and the soil, (the condition of the human heart) that determines whether we can know God or not.

This is a basic reality. You cannot know God if you do not receive His Word and believe what it says. If you receive this seed, you can know Him; if the condition of your heart prevents the seed from entering your heart, you will be excluded from having a meaningful relationship with Him. It’s as simple as that.

I should point out that this Parable of the Sower does not tell us how to prepare our hearts to receive God’s seed; it merely states the present condition of the soil, and its consequences. This information is provided elsewhere in Scripture.

So, if I detect my heart’s condition is not receptive to the seed of God’s Word, can it be changed, and if so, how?

Hosea and Jeremiah together have the answer:

Break up your fallow ground,
For it is time to seek the Lord
Until He comes to rain righteousness on you. (Hosea 10:12b – NASB)

“Is not My word like fire?” declares the Lord, “and like a hammer which shatters a rock? (Jeremiah 23:29 – NASB)

• The hard, unreceptive ground of our hearts must be broken up.

The responsibility to do this is ours.  God tells us to; Break up your fallow ground,
For it is time to seek the Lord. Don’t put it off; time is of the essence.

• God’s promise is that, once the fallow ground is broken up, He will rain down righteousness upon us:

Until He comes to rain righteousness on you.

• The means to break up our fallow ground has been provided.

not My word like fire?” declares the Lord, “and like a hammer which shatters a rock? (Jeremiah 23:29 – NASB)

All we have to do is to seriously engage ourselves with God’s Word, and a process of transformation will begin. The fire will burn up the thorns and the hammer will break up the rock hard condition of our hearts. In time, the soil of our hearts will become more and more receptive to the seed of God’s Word. It is certain to be a painful process, but the rewards will justify any pain and anguish endured.

A Change of Heart

(© Friday 17^th April 2015 0 by Christopher Shennan)

…Break up your fallow ground,
For it is time to seek the Lord
Until He comes to rain righteousness on you. (Hosea 10:12b – NASB)

“Is not My word like fire?” declares the Lord, “and like a hammer which shatters a rock? (Jeremiah 23:29 – NASB))

Some think that their heart’s condition,

Is beyond their power to change;

They accept their wayward nature,

Is beyond their scope and range.

Its true God alone can change you,

But He’s called you to play your part;

He’s called you to make an effort

To prepare the ground of your heart.

There’s a process you must follow;

There’s a sowing of seed you must do.

The fallow ground must be broken,

Before God’s seed can enter you.

How can I break this hardness?

How can I dig up this hard ground?

How can I make my heart answer

To God’s Voice I hear all around?

God’s Word is just like a fire,

Like a hammer that shatters stone;

Has power to make my heart listen,

And to receive God’s seed alone.

So I’ll let God’s Word disturb me;

I’ll let it fertilize my soul –

It will change my disposition,

And make my broken spirit whole.

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The Sower (Le semeur) by James Tissot. This image is in the public domain.

Superpowers

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Superpowers

Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater [works] than these he will do; because I go to the Father. (John 14:12 – NASB)

If you could choose for yourself any superpower from those fictional superheroes you’ have ever heard of, which would you choose?

Would you choose those of Superman, man of steel, and able to fly at lightning speed?

Or would it be Spiderman, fighting for justice while clinging to the walls of high rise buildings and swinging through the streets to apprehend criminals?

This discussion arose in one of our family gatherings and family members chose a number of different options. I chose none of the superpowers discussed that day. My heart hungers for superpowers of a different order. I choose the superpowers Jesus said would belong to those who believe in Him. I quote his words again:

Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater [works] than these he will do; because I go to the Father. (John 14:12 – NASB)

This verse is so stunning that many of God’s people choose not to take it seriously, or re-interpret to mean something mundane and non-spectacular. I choose to take the words of Jesus at face value: He said what he meant and he meant what He said. How God means to work it out in your own life is between you and God. As for me, the poem below expresses what I am expecting to receive from His hand:

Super Powers

(Monday 30^th April, 2012 – by Christopher Shennan)

While sitting around the table,

At a family dinner at noon,

One spoke up and asked a question

That got us thinking, and soon

The buzz of conversation

Could be heard for quite some time,

To try to find the answer

To the question, and I found mine.

The question was, “If you could be

A super hero, what are the powers

You would want to call your own?”

We talked of this for hours.

One chose to be a Superman

With his power to fly though air;

A Man of Steel to vanquish all

The evil men out there.

Another spoke of Batman

And his fight to stamp out crime,

Who vanquished the arch villain;

Whose rescue was in time

Now Spiderman was mentioned,

With his will to right defend;

To champion all the weak ones,

And cause all terror’s end.

But the super powers I’m craving

Are the ones’ that will not die;

Those that come from Heaven,

And are sent by God on high

They’re not earned, but freely given

To those souls who hunger, thirst,

Who by faith can claim the promise –

Though they’re last, they’ll come out first.

No, the super powers I’m craving

Are Faith that’s pure and true –

And Love sent down from Heaven,

That will other hearts renew.

These are super powers, friend,

That are worthy of the name –

They’re powers that last forever –

They’re the only ones I claim.

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Called to CHALLENGE

Called to CHALLENGE

Findphotoat http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2011_Green_Flight_Challenge.jpg.

But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves. ² Many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned; ³ and in their greed they will exploit you with false words; their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep. (2 Peter 2:1-3 – NASB)

Peter was an under-shepherd of the Chief Shepherd. As such he was not only called to gently guide the sheep and feed them in green pastures. He was also called to challenge the goats among the flock, gentle to the straying sheep he may be, but bold and uncompromising toward those who would seek to lead them astray.

The entire second chapter of Second Peter is a denunciation and condemnation of false teachers and false teachings. If your pastor is faithful to his calling he will challenge as well as plead; he will rebuke as well as comfort; he will expose error as well as proclaim truth.

Pastor’s and teachers are not the only ones who need to challenge false teaching. No believer is exempt from the need to search the Scriptures daily to determine whether what a teacher is teaching is indeed solidly based upon Scripture. If we are deceived, those doing the deceiving will face judgment. If we are deceived, we too bear a large slice of responsibility for your own deception, since we did not take responsibility for searching out the truth.

In Acts chapter 17, we are told of some Jews in a Synagogue in Berea and how they responded to Paul’s teaching:

 The brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. ¹¹ Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily [to see] whether these things were so. ¹² Therefore many of them believed, along with a number of prominent Greek women and men. (Acts 17:10-12 – NASB)

We, like those in Berea, need to examine the Scriptures daily, to ensure that what we are being taught is indeed the truth. If we do not, we bear the responsibility for our own deception.

I Won’t

(© Wednesday 1^st October 2003)

                        I won’t soften it up

Or water it down,

Or change the message because

Of a frown that comes my way.

The Truth is as sharp as a doctor’s

Scalpel, and is meant to heal, not harm —

To blunt its edge is a cruel invention,

Revealing an evil, base intention.

So, I won’t soften it up

Or water it down:

I’ll preach it straight and

Make it plain,

Regardless of whether it

Administers pain, or pleasure,

Or ecstatic joy. I’ll spread

God’s truth — without alloy.

I’ll serve it up in the spirit of Love,

With the help of Heaven and the

Host of Light:

I’m not alone as I stand my ground:

By the mercy of God

In His truth I’m found.

I won’t soften it up

Or water it down,

Or change the message because

Of a frown that comes my way,

But I need the prayers of

God’s people each day,

To keep me walking the straight,

Narrow way.

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No Drifting Allowed

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No Drifting Allowed 

For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away [from it]. (Hebrews 2:1 – NASB)

This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast…(Hebrews 6:19 – NASB)\

People seldom depart from the truth in one radical, dramatic exit. It is almost always by hardly noticeable increments that they drift away from it.

If you have ever been in a boat on a lake, you know how quietly you can drift further and further from shore. Unless you are actively paying attention, and using your paddles to counteract the drift, or have an anchor cast, you are sure to end up where you do not want to be

My wife and I had a real scare when our daughter was around three or four years old.  She was paddling in the shallows with her mother and brother at the edge of a lake. Trying to float on a blow-up toy in the shape of a dolphin, she began to drift.

Only when she screamed in alarm did my wife realize our daughter was in grave peril. Not a strong swimmer herself, she sent our son to fetch a neighbour for help. In the meantime she kept shouting to our daughter over the water to keep kicking, and so keep herself from losing her grip. It took at least ten minutes for the neighbour to find a boat and paddle out to rescue her.

All this time our daughter was kicking, literally, to save her own life, while she screamed in terror.

I arrived home from town a while later, to find our daughter safe, but somewhat traumatized by her experience. My wife, too, had nightmares for some time afterwards, just because of the realization that we could have lost our little girl because of a few moments of inattention.

How do we keep from drifting away from the truth?

In two ways: (1) We must pay constant attention to the truth: For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard… and (2) We must always be  anchored in Jesus, the Author and finisher of our faith: This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast…

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Love of the Truth

Love of the Truth

…they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. (2 Thessalonians 2:10b – NASB)

            Acknowledging the Truth and loving the truth can be two different things.

            You can accept the truth that God wants you to remain married to your wife till death parts you – but you may not love the idea that you have to spend the rest of your life with her.

            You may acknowledge your political opponent has won the election, but hate that he has beaten you.

            God does not just want us to recognize His Truth; He wants to give us a love for the Truth.

            The Truth can only set us free if we embrace it; simply acknowledging it without loving it will rob it of its liberation power.

            Truth acknowledged but not embraced is like a seed stored on a shelf but not planted. It will never bloom in your life, or set you free.

Loving the Truth

(© Wednesday 21^st May 2014 – by Christopher Shennan)

 …they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved.

I did not love the truth I’d found,

Though I kept it in my treasure;

I loved so many other things,

For they gave me so much pleasure.

 

I kept the truth quite safe in store;

I was sure no one could steal it;

So many other things were there,

I was sure they’d never see it.

 

I had the truth; it gathered dust

On a shelf where things could hide it

It was sure to be overlooked

Where no one else could find it.

 

That is the way it was, dear friend,

Till God’s mercy made an offer:

To grant my heart a love for truth,

Such as only Christ could proffer.

 

He said if I would receive it,

And give it first place in my heart,

He’d give me treasure from Heaven,

And joy that would never depart.

 

So I cleared out all earthly treasures

To make place for those that will last;

Truly my Lord kept His promise –

And the riches I have gained are vast.

Excerpt from the Author’s book: Exploring Biblical Prayer (vol. 2) (not yet published).                                                                            Volume 1 available at: http://www.christophershennan.ca