PG4Him
Senior Member
Essay Moderator
Posts: 3,570
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Post by PG4Him on May 1, 2018 7:34:39 GMT -5
In Matthew 13, Jesus tells us about different kinds of people who receive God's word. Some get nothing out of it. Some bring it to fruition. What makes the difference? What really makes God's word come to life for us?
Do we have to believe God's word as hard as we can? Of course we must believe Him, but nowhere does the Bible say we overcome difficulty by somehow believing harder. In fact, two of the people in Matthew 13 believed the word to no avail. If you keep trying to drum up the willpower to believe with more gusto, you're barking up the wrong tree.
Do we run out and start preaching/healing/walking on water to get the word to stick? Is the word only true if we see results tomorrow? One person in Matthew 13 tried that strategy. They sprouted up a little greenshoot that seemed promising, but it died when the roots couldn't dig deep enough for food and water. If you think you can drown out difficulty by surrounding yourself with miracles, you're barking up the wrong tree.
Only one person out of four found success in that story. Jesus compared them to fertile soil. Their soil was deep enough for thick roots to burrow down to the water. It was nutritious enough for the plant to be fertilized. And it was guarded enough for foot traffic to avoid it.
How do we turn ourselves into fertile soil?
Check out what Jesus said at the very end of the Beatitudes: Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock.
Therefore? These sayings of Mine? The sayings of the Beatitudes. And look at the paragraph right above that statement! Deceptive miracle workers! People don't succeed in God's kingdom because they run out and do miracles. They succeed because they do the Beatitudes.
Your attitude, your mental condition, your emotional strength, and your habitual character will comprise the "soil" God's word has to grow in. The very first sermon Jesus gave us on this earth shows us good conduct. Don't try to get ahead in God's kingdom by copying Acts and eventually work your way back to Matthew. You need to go the other way around.
An insightful preacher once said that most Western Christians are educated beyond their obedience. This is our great danger. This is what destroyed at least one of the people in Matthew 13. Make yourself great in God's eyes by epitomizing His character. He will promote you with miracles to follow -- and those miracles will actually set people free with lasting power.
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Post by John on May 1, 2018 8:15:55 GMT -5
The Lord had dealt with me several times about being in the category listed in Matthew 13:7. "And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them." In verse 22, Jesus goes on to explain that "he also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful." I think this is the snare that will cause many to lose out with God. They don't live in open sin, but they aren't really fully committed to Christ. Thankfully, I dealt with this a while back, but it is a serious problem. Here are a couple of scriptures I believe go hand in hand with this.
Jeremiah 4:3 "For thus saith the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns."
Hosea 10:12 "Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain righteousness upon you."
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Post by 2fw8212a on May 9, 2018 20:05:11 GMT -5
What makes the difference? What really makes God's word come to life for us? Love."...bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails." - 1 Corinthians 13:7-8
"For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love." - Galatians 5:6
"He who does not love does not know God, for God is love." - 1 John 4:8
"But if anyone loves God, this one is known by Him." - 1 Corinthians 8:3
"For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God." - Romans 8:14
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Post by frienduff on May 9, 2018 21:01:41 GMT -5
Its why the early church warned out so much. what is THE ONE THING that WILL, and I repeat WILL harden a heart . SIN , love of money some lust WILL harden the heart . IT IS all about THE KEEPING of JESUS sayings . The spirit can be quenched . SIN is a monster , sin is disobedience . and sin will cause one to fall away . WHY do we think they were so huge on the pattern JESUS set up for correction . Godly sorrow leads to repentance . We should never have changed the pattern JESUS SET and the APOSLTES taught . IF one does err, let not these things be named even once . Let all who name the name of Christ depart from inquity. ITS ALL SAID FOR A REASON and A PURPOSE . it is just today when we warn like this we get accused of preaching EARNING salvation or WORKS . THEY have no idea what they have lost . NO idea . THE CALL to return to heavey bible reading Must be at the forefront again . WE must get that pattern engrained . WE must keep that pattern , JESUS SET IT , HE KNOWS all things .
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karanbac
Junior Member
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Posts: 151
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Post by karanbac on May 10, 2018 9:57:30 GMT -5
Good meaty conversation, thank you!
Psalm 119:105-6 Thy Word is a Lamp unto my feet And a Light onto my path
I kept repeating this as I needed His WORD to guide me. I made up my own song just singing Show My Your Way, Show Me Your Way Show me Your Way Oh Lord, Show me Your way.
He is ever FAITHFUL!
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Post by Giller on Sept 26, 2018 1:36:27 GMT -5
These are the verses that I keep thinking about:
Gal 5:22-23 (22) But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, (23) Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
I find that if you prosper in these things, then the rest will follow.
And then the Holy Spirit will be able to lead you, and God will confirm his word.
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Post by Giller on Sept 26, 2018 8:45:20 GMT -5
That is actually what we are into right now in our assemblies, is on the fruit of the Spirit, which is actually one of my favorite topics.
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Post by John on Mar 20, 2019 9:20:25 GMT -5
The beatitudes show us attitudes pleasing to God. Fruit of the Spirit shows us character the Holy Ghost wants us to have, and if we do, we are not under a schoolmaster, because we are living a lifestyle pleasing to God already. Still, these are about attitudes and character rather than laws. Many claim to be walking in the Spirit, but they have little fruit. Spirit-led to them is feelings.
How do we do the beatitudes and truly walk in the Spirit? How do we break up our fallow ground? To me, it must mean being aware of these teachings, and practicing them till they become part of us. I believe people think this occurs automatically, with no effort, and it doesn't work that way.
Back to the OP. How do I obtain more faith, which is a fruit of the Spirit? I think you have to practice walking in it. I believe it is a daily decision to believe God's Word and obey it.
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Post by 2fw8212a on Mar 20, 2019 10:23:22 GMT -5
...I believe people think this occurs automatically, with no effort, and it doesn't work that way.
It definitely does not work that way.
The Spirit will first impart faith, if the person obeys that faith, the Spirit will give them more faith to achieve the next level.
If the person does not answer to the faith, it will vanish until the person is willing to obey.
"Nevertheless, to the degree that we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us be of the same mind." - Philippians 3:16
The moment the person answer to the faith in the first time, it takes effort and perseverance.
Then it will become natural (effortless) after the person has been established in the faith.
"For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him." - Matthew 13:12
For example, when starting to fight against the flesh it is not easy...
but when you decide that you want to continue to destroy the flesh, then more knowledge and faith will be given to you.
Then, what once was very hard will become natural after some time of practice.
That is how the Spirit works in the life of a believer, they must believe and be obedient in order to grow.
"Finally then, brethren, we urge and exhort in the Lord Jesus that you should abound more and more, just as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God..." - 1 Thessalonians 4:1How do I obtain more faith, which is a fruit of the Spirit? I think you have to practice walking in it. Exactly. It is by asking, seeking, and knocking... You have to practice, by faith.
"...for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure." - Philippians 2:13
One thing that is interesting is that people say:
Practice makes perfect.
But when some become Christian they want to forget and sit back and relax, thinking they will learn or improve without seeking.
The truth is: They will not. Or they will learn the hard way.
Otherwise, we would all develop at the same pace. And it is obvious that this is not true.
As it is written, without faith it is impossible to please Him.
Blessings!
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Post by John on Mar 20, 2019 10:40:14 GMT -5
I was thinking about the OP, and a person struggling with their faith trying to motivate themselves to believe by listening to sermon after sermon about faith, or perhaps repeating over and over "I believe this will occur," and yet doubts remain. We can't conjure up faith. We believe or we don't, but perhaps we can practice it by just knowing if God's Word says something, it is true, and just practice turning the matter over to the Lord, and trusting him no matter what we see. Even if we don't see things happening like we think it should, we practice faith. I think the same thing would apply with practicing the beatitudes and the fruit of the Spirit. Of course, I am interested in what sister Candance thinks about this, as she started the thread.
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Post by 2fw8212a on Mar 20, 2019 11:03:20 GMT -5
I was thinking about the OP, and a person struggling with their faith trying to motivate themselves to believe by listening to sermon after sermon about faith, or perhaps repeating over and over "I believe this will occur," and yet doubts remain.
The sermon has to be inspired by God's Word.
For example, I preach about miracles and healings, I cannot force you to believe in a healing for your life.
The Spirit will impart faith to believers hearing what is being preached, so they can believe and be healed.
And if the believers answer to that faith, and persevere in it until the end... They will get the miracle.
And obviously, such is only possible if God answer to their prayer and they receive an answer to encourage them so they can keep believing until the end.
"...Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe." - John 4:48
One of the reasons why exhortation is so much needed in the church. And obviously, Satan and the flesh hate exhortations.
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Post by John on Mar 20, 2019 11:09:51 GMT -5
I was thinking about the OP, and a person struggling with their faith trying to motivate themselves to believe by listening to sermon after sermon about faith, or perhaps repeating over and over "I believe this will occur," and yet doubts remain.
The sermon has to be inspired by God's Word.
For example, I preach about miracles and healings, I cannot force you to believe in a healing for your life.
The Spirit will impart faith to believers hearing what is being preached, so they can believe and be healed.
And if the believers answer to that faith, and persevere in it until the end... They will get the miracle.
And obviously, such is only possible if God answer to their prayer and they receive an answer to encourage them so they can keep believing until the end.
"...Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe." - John 4:48
One of the reasons why exhortation is so much needed in the church. And obviously, Satan and the flesh hate exhortations. You are right about that! It is crazy the negative reaction people have to exhortations.
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Post by Abby-Joy on Mar 20, 2019 15:40:56 GMT -5
I do believe that the more we earnestly read the Word of God, the more faith will be birthed in our hearts. And there is emphasis on hearing.
Romans 10:17
“So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
Question: Does it look like this is also saying that "hearing" comes by the Word of God? What kind of "hearing" is this referring to? Based on the context, it's speaking of hearing the Word of God preached and taught. But the last use of the word "hearing" seems to imply a heart hearing (hearing the Spirit of God open up the Word to our hearts). What do you think?
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Post by John on Mar 20, 2019 16:08:53 GMT -5
I do believe that the more we earnestly read the Word of God, the more faith will be birthed in our hearts. And there is emphasis on hearing.
Romans 10:17
“So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
Question: Does it look like this is also saying that "hearing" comes by the Word of God? What kind of "hearing" is this referring to? Based on the context, it's speaking of hearing the Word of God preached and taught. But the last use of the word "hearing" seems to imply a heart hearing (hearing the Spirit of God open up the Word to our hearts). What do you think? In the OP, sister Candance spoke of the kind of ground the Word fell on. It really isn't enough to just hear it, if it goes in one ear and out the other. If your heart isn't open to receiving the message, it does you no good. I have always thought of this in terms of hearing the Word of God as in reading the Bible, but the Bible asks how shall they hear without a preacher, so a good, solid, Bible based message is definitely a way people will hear the Word. Are they prepared to receive it? If the ground is hard, you must prepare it, just like you have to prepare the ground for planting seed if you want to have a good crop.
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Post by Abby-Joy on Mar 20, 2019 16:18:05 GMT -5
I do believe that the more we earnestly read the Word of God, the more faith will be birthed in our hearts. And there is emphasis on hearing.
Romans 10:17
“So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
Question: Does it look like this is also saying that "hearing" comes by the Word of God? What kind of "hearing" is this referring to? Based on the context, it's speaking of hearing the Word of God preached and taught. But the last use of the word "hearing" seems to imply a heart hearing (hearing the Spirit of God open up the Word to our hearts). What do you think? In the OP, sister Candance spoke of the kind of ground the Word fell on. It really isn't enough to just hear it, if it goes in one ear and out the other. If your heart isn't open to receiving the message, it does you no good. I have always thought of this in terms of hearing the Word of God as in reading the Bible, but the Bible asks how shall they hear without a preacher, so a good, solid, Bible based message is definitely a way people will hear the Word. Are they prepared to receive it? If the ground is hard, you must prepare it, just like you have to prepare the ground for planting seed if you want to have a good crop.
I agree, brother ... that's why I said "earnestly read." If taken in context, this verse is speaking of saving faith that comes from hearing the Word of God preached. Still, I believe there is a principle to be found in verse 17. "Hearing" comes by the Word of God. Think about the condition of 98% of churches today. You're hard pressed to hear 2 or 3 unadulterated verses mentioned in a sermon in most churches. No wonder so few are being truly saved!
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