Title Double it (2) / Matthew 13:1-9
The main text is that the 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 is not possible. There are cases where the seeds are good but the soil is poor soil, the soil is good soil but the seeds are bad, and the climatic conditions are bad even though the seeds are good and the soil is 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, the seeds grew and sometimes they died. We can find the following lessons in the text. can.
1. Lands with different soils were gathered in one place.
The roadside, the rocky field, the thorns, and the good land mentioned in the text were not far apart, but were adjacent to each other or located in the same space. This means the diversity and gathering of the church.
The members of the congregation, whether large or small, are diverse. And their hearts and minds are also diverse. Their thoughts, expectations, and demands are all different. Their motives for coming to church and believing in Jesus are also different. It's different. I'll give you an example.
1) There are people like the roadside.
The roadside is a place frequented and exposed by people. So it is noisy and distracting. After the seeds fall to the ground, they need to be buried and covered, but it is difficult to go to the roadside. The seeds that fall there are exposed as they are, so birds eat them.
In verse 19 of the text, it says that when they hear the word of the kingdom and do not understand it, the evil one comes and takes away what is sown in their heart. That is the seed sown along 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 said to be the way they treat their guests. That is, the service is different.
The local restaurant owners cannot be neglected because they are regulars, but the service is poor because most of the restaurant customers at the station or terminal are just passersby.
You can walk around to choose a church. I don't see that as a bad thing in itself. But if you change churches periodically throughout your life, that's not a good attitude because it's habitual.
Last Friday, all of our church clergy went up to the prayer center and had a time to pray. On the spot, I asked for four things.
First, if it is beneficial to the church and helps the church 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.
In the case of Seoul, the only church worth going to after staying at the Chungshin Church would be Y, M, S, and K churches. said it was good
Roadside religious life or church 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 must beware of two things. One is that we must not turn our minds into stones by ourselves. Stones are necessary. They have many uses. But our hearts must not be like stones.
If you look at Genesis, God made the soil in the beginning, but He did not make 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 such challenges and stories accumulate, the heart becomes hardened and hardened. Anyway, the seed of the gospel cannot grow in a heart like a 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 asked her not to make the sorrow of losing more.
What can compare the sadness of losing your parents to anything else? So, if it is the God who gives this tragedy, I could say that I would break up, and if it was a church that worships such an incompetent God, I could declare that I would stop going. You may be able to pay in two.
What I asked her to do is to lose God because of the sorrow of losing her parents, and if she loses her church and her neighbor, the sorrow will be greater and the damage will be greater. It was not meant to be.
Whether our faith is thick or thin is revealed when we are faced with tribulation or persecution, and when we 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.”
The thorn pierces. The thorn blocks the energy. So stabbing and blocking is what the thorn does.
And the important thing is that thorns also grow. Small or large thorns is not a good thing. Small thorns under the nail act as a cause of inflammation, while large thorns take life.
But the thorns that take root in the ground grow and become bigger thorns.
The thorn pierces itself and pierces others.
A thorn-like person harasses others with words and actions.
Growing up as a child, I played with my friends, fought, played pranks, beaten, and hit others. I tripped and broke my knee and injured my hand with a tool. I can't even remember who it was. And the wounds I received from the words are still not vividly erased.
It is immoral to stab someone with a thorn, whether intentionally or by mistake.
Not only that. The thorns are blocking the good, not the positive blocking the bad.
It blocks grace and blocks the Word. It blocks the success and happiness of others and causes pain.
Let's be people who pave the way and help others. Let's applaud those who do good work, not block them. 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 a wrathful thing.
There was a case where a certain social research institute investigated what the best in the world that only Korea had.
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's 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.
Seeds 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's the same good land, but the results are different. Some soils are 100-fold, some are 60-fold, and some are 30 times.
What kind of land do you want to be? Which one would you choose? 100 times, 60 times, or 30 times? There is good land, very good land, the best land.
When the soil is the best, it will yield a 100-fold fruit.
The central lesson of this parable is not the problem of seeds. It is a problem of the soil.
It is said that anyone can reap at least 30 times as long as the land is good.
This parable is a good source for self-reflection and reflection. Why can't we grow in faith?
Why are there no crops of 30, 60, or 100 times? It is because the field of my heart is not good. The seed does not grow because it is on a roadside, a rocky field, or a thorny field.
The two are to make good land.
How can I change the soil?
In Hosea 10:12, it is said, “Turn up your fallen ground, and at last the Lord will come and rain down righteousness on you.” The soil changes only when the old ground is plowed. And all 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, saying, “This city is very beautiful and has plenty of water, but the crops fail and fall.”
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 that grow unripe and fall.”
The earth had a problem because the water was bad. When the water was fixed, the earth was naturally healed.
What is important is God's word, "I have healed this water."
God heals the water, the earth, works, and humans as well. In other words, we will be healed by the power of the Holy Spirit and the work of renewing us.
The conclusion is clear.
There is a way to multiply 100 times. It can be done by fixing the bad soil. In other words, by fixing 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 realized. 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 the bad attitudes in our religious life and church life. That is to cultivate the old ground.
Traditions are precious. But when they are bad traditions, they need to be fixed quickly.
Belief and stubbornness are not the same. Belief must not be bent, but stubbornness must be broken.
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 land to God.