Labourer for Christ

Good morning and welcome in everybody. Today, we are going to take a look at a passage of scripture from the book of Matthew.

Matthew 13:1-23 (KJB)  The same day went Jesus out of the house, and sat by the sea side. And great multitudes were gathered together unto him, so that he went into a ship, and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore. And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow; And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up: Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth: And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them: But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath. Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear. For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them. Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower.

When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side.

But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it; Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.

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.

But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.

In this parable, the sower is patiently planting the Word of God into people’s hearts, so it will eventually bring forth fruit unto life eternal. But there are many things in this life that can prevent that from happening. The first thing that we must possess is a good understanding of the teachings of our faith. Simply put, when you understand something you have the ability to grasp the real meaning of, or to fully comprehend something in your mind. For those who want to become fruitful in Christ, we must first have a good understanding of Scriptural Truth. 

Proverbs 16:16 (KJB)  How much better is it to get wisdom than gold! and to get understanding rather to be chosen than silver!

Psalms 119:169 (KJB)  Let my cry come near before thee, O LORD: give me understanding according to thy word.

The Apostle Paul prayed for the church to be filled with understanding

Colossians 1:9-10 (KJB)  For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God;

It’s only when we have a good understanding of God’s will that we can do those things that are pleasing in His sight. To understand means to be thoroughly familiar with something. But when people don’t fully understand the teachings of scripture, the devil will simply come and take it away from their hearts. As Jesus preached to His disciples, He wanted them to understand clearly what He was talking about. 

Luke 24:45 (KJB)  Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures,

Another group of people will gladly hear the Word of God, but are only going to last in the Christian faith for a period of time, simply because they don’t want to have to endure suffering because of biblical teachings. Like a plant that never really develops a strong root system, they will fall away from the faith because they lack the endurance to follow all the way through right until the very end. 

Matthew 24:11-13 (KJB)  And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.

Many men are going to be unfruitful simply because they have dedicated their time and resources to other things in this world. Earthly concerns will become far more important to them than preaching and fulfilling the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

Luke 9:57-62 (KJB)  And it came to pass, that, as they went in the way, a certain man said unto him, Lord, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest. And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head. And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God. And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house. And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.

But when the Word of God is planted inside of a good and obedient heart, it’s going to produce fruit. Think of all the tomatoes that are produced simply because of one little seed that was planted in the right area.

John 15:4-5 (KJB)  Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

Romans 7:4 (KJB)  Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God.

So if you want some fresh tomatoes in your garden, you will have to put in some time and effort into plantjng them. Likewise if you want a Spiritual crop, you will have to do the same, by feeding the flock of God, soeong the seeds of our faith, and becoming a faithful and obedient,…….

 …….Labourer for Christ

Let’s think about these things for right now. We can be found on your web browser by searching, tlkjbc where you can find our diaries distributed through various platforms. We are not associated, nor affiliated with any other religious groups. You can get our entire podcast feeds directly, along with transcripts at tlkjbc.com or I suppose that you could find us somewhere up here, in the Great Northern Minnesota woods. Peace to you all, and Lord willing, we will talk with you some more tomorrow. Till then, bye bye everybody.

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