Title Double it (2) (Matthew 13:1-9)
On that day, when Jesus left the house and sat by the seashore, a large crowd gathered around him. Jesus got into the boat and sat down, and the whole crowd stood on the seashore. Jesus told them many things in parables, saying, The sower went out to sow and sowed, but some fell along the roadside, and birds came and ate it up. Others fell on a rocky ground with thin soil, and because the soil was not deep, sprouts sprouted immediately. The thorns grew and choked it, and some fell on good soil, and it bore fruit, some a hundred, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears, let him hear."
(Matthew 13:1-9)
The text says that seeds were sown in the ground, but only the seeds that fell on good soil grew well and bore fruit 100 times, 60 times, and 30 times.
There are several reasons why farming doesn't work. There are cases where the seeds are good but the ground is not good, the soil is fertile but the seeds are bad, and the climatic conditions are bad even though the seeds are good.
In the case of the text, the seeds were good, the climate was good, and the farmers were good people, but the problem was the land. Depending on the conditions of the land, some seeds grew and some died while growing. We can find the following lessons in the text.
1 Lands of different soils were gathered in one place.
The roadside, the rocky field, the thorns, and the good ground mentioned in the text were not separated from each other, but were adjacent to each other or located in the same space. This means the diversity and collectivity of the Church.
The composition of the church members, large or small, is diverse. And their mentality and image (心性 and 心象) are also diverse. What you think, what you expect, and what you ask for are all different. The motives for coming to church and believing in Jesus are different. I'll give you an example.
1) There are people like the roadside.
A roadside is an exposed and frequented area. So noisy and distracting. After the seeds fall to the ground, they must be buried and covered in the soil, but it is difficult to go down the road. The seeds that fall there are exposed and eaten by birds.
In verse 19, it says that when they hear the word of the kingdom and do not understand it, the evil one comes and takes away what has been sown in their heart. That is the seed sown by the roadside.
Church life should be calm and settled. The difference between a restaurant in a neighborhood and a restaurant in a station or terminal is the attitude towards customers. In other words, the service is different.
Local restaurant customers are regulars, so they cannot be neglected, but the service is poor because most of the restaurant customers at the station or terminal are just passers-by.
You can go here and there to choose a church. I don't see that as a bad thing in itself. However, changing churches periodically throughout your life is not a good attitude because it is habitual.
Last Friday, all of our church clergy went up to the prayer center and had time to pray. On the spot, I asked for four things.
First, if it is beneficial to the church and helps the church to grow for the church, you will be responsible and do your best to help and take responsibility.
Second, co-workers should help each other and work in a loving partnership.
Third, do your best in everything.
Fourth, do not move around.
Roadside religious life is not good. Chungshin Church is the best church.
2) There are people who are like stone fields.
It is a hard place because there is no soil. Even on rocky ground, seeds fall. And it sprouts, but soon dries and withers. Because the soil is thin.
In verse 21, the seed that fell on the rocky ground is described as “the one who immediately stumbles when tribulation or persecution arises.”
We need to watch out for two things. One is that we must not turn our minds into stone fields by ourselves. Stones are what you need. Its uses are also diverse. But the heart must not be like a stone.
In Genesis, God made the earth in the beginning, but he did not make the stones. Stones are things that have been hardened and compacted over a long period of time.
The human heart is not inherently as hard as a stone. As these challenges and stories pile up, our hearts become hardened and hardened. In any case, the seed of the gospel cannot grow in a heart of stone.
The other is that we should not give up or fall easily because of tribulation or persecution.
There was a girl who lost her parents and a younger brother in an accident. I urged her not to create the sadness of losing more.
What can compare the sadness of losing your parents to anything else? Thus, if it is the God who gives such a tragedy, I may say that I will break up, and if it is a church that worships such an incompetent God, I may declare that I will stop entering. And, saying that I can't share my sorrowful appearance with anyone, I might be able to get out two doors with the door locked.
What I asked her to do is that if she loses God, loses her church, and loses her neighbor because of the grief of losing her parents, the grief will be greater and the damage will be greater. Even if we lost something precious, we should not make the mistake of losing two or three more precious things.
Whether your faith is thick or thin is revealed when you are faced with tribulation or persecution, and when you stand in the face of pain and despair.
3) There are people like thorns.
Verse 22 says, “Those that fell among the thorns are those who are unfruitful, for the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word.”
And in verse 7, it says, “The thorns grew and choked the energy.”
A thorn is a sting. It blocks the energy that goes away. So stabbing and blocking is what thorns do.
And the important thing is that thorns also grow. A thorn, small or large, is not a good thing. A small thorn under the nail acts as a cause of inflammation, while a large thorn takes life.
But the thorns that take root in the ground grow. It will become a bigger thorn.
The thorn pierces itself and pierces others.
A thorn-like person harasses others with words and actions.
Growing up as a child, I would hang out with my friends, fight, play pranks, be beaten, and beat others. I tripped and broke my knee and injured my hand with a tool. I can't count them all, and I can't remember when, where, and to whom. However, the wounds caused by the words are still not vividly erased. Once the thorn is pierced, it has a habit of digging deep.
It is immoral to stab someone with a thorn, whether intentionally or by mistake.
Not only that. It blocks your way. It blocks the good, not the positive role that blocks the bad.
It blocks grace and blocks the Word. It hinders the success and happiness of others and causes pain.
Let's be a person who paved the way, someone who helps others Let's applaud rather than block a good worker. The Lord said in Matthew 23:13.
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you shut the gates of the kingdom of heaven before men, and you do not enter, and those who are about to enter do not allow them in.”
To prevent neither one's own nor others from entering, one's own and no other's going in, this is an act of anger.
There was a case where a certain social research institute investigated what the best in the world that only Korea has. that is
First car accident in the world
2nd highest in the world
Thirdly, it was the best in the world for an innocent fight.
Applause Let us be the best in the world, the best in reconciliation, the best in encouragement, and the best in faith.
2 Fruits can be achieved only when the soil is good.
The seed that fell on good soil yielded 100 times, 60 times, and 30 times.
Verse 23 says, “They sown on good soil are those who hear the word and understand it.”
In Psalm 49:20, it is said, “A man who is in honour, but does not understand it, is like the beast that perishes.”
We need to remember two things here.
One is that good soil comes in many forms.
It is the same good land, but the results are different. Some land multiplied 100 times, some land 60 times, and some land 30 times.
What kind of land do you want to be? Which one would you choose? 100x, 60x, or 30x? There is good land, very good land, there is best land.
When the soil is the best, it will yield a 100-fold fruit.
The central lesson of this parable is not the seed problem. It's a land issue. In other words, a 100-fold harvest is possible only when the soil is good.
It is said that anyone can reap at least 30 times as long as the land is good.
This parable is a good resource for self-reflection and reflection. Why can't I grow in faith?
Why are there no crops of 30, 60 and 100 times? It is because the field of my heart is not good. The seed cannot grow because it is long, stony, or thorny.
The two are to make good land.
How can I change the soil?
In Hosea 10:12 it says, “Turn up your fallen land, and at last the LORD will come and rain down righteousness on you.” The soil quality changes only when the old ground is plowed. And all the weeds die.
To plow up the old ground Hosea spoke of is to heal the field of your heart.
When the prophet Elisha was active, the Jericho region was suffering because of the soil.
In 2 Kings 2:19 and below, one day the people of Jericho complained to Elisha. “This city is very beautiful and has plenty of water, but the crops fail and fall,” he asked for help.
When Elisha heard this, he put salt in a bowl and sprinkled it on the water source.
And said:
“Thus says the Lord, I have healed these waters, and there will be no more death or of the soil, nor will it fall away.”
The land had problems because the water was bad. When the water was healed, the land was naturally healed.
What is important is God's word, "I have healed this water."
God heals water, earth, history, and humans as well. In other words, we are healed by the power of the Holy Spirit and the work of renewing.
The conclusion is clear.
There is a way to multiply 100 times. It just needs to fix the bad soil. In other words, all you need to do is to heal the fields of my heart, my mind, and my soul.
We have been engrossed in trying to find out why we have not been blessed, succeeded, and have not grown in faith.
And I wasted my time trying to put the blame on someone else.
But now I understand. The reason I couldn't bear 100 fold was because my field was bad.
Let's fix it one by one for mature faith and 100-fold fruition.
Let's fix bad attitudes in our religious life or church life. That's what it means to plow the old ground.
Tradition is precious. But when it's a bad tradition, it needs to be fixed quickly.
Belief and stubbornness are not the same thing. You must not bend your convictions, but you must be able to break your stubbornness.
It is futile to stick to the bad thing until the end.
For a double blessing and successful life this year,
And let's cultivate the old ground for the double of faith.
Let's get rid of weeds. Let's entrust our home to God.