Condition of your heart determines your harvest! : By James Lantz
Jesus taught the masses in parables so they could taste of His wisdom and be inspired to draw close and learn how to apply these truths to advance the kingdom of God. Mt. 13:11 . . . Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. Jesus said that no one would be able to understand any of His parables if they did not first understand the parable of the sower sows the Word. The all powerful, incorruptible, eternal word of God is the main subject of this parable! Without the seed of God’s word being sown into the hearts of men there would be no reproduction of the seed. God’s word is a living seed that will reproduce after its kind when planted into good soil! We do not need to be concerned about the words ability to grow, mature, and bring forth a harvest in the human spirit. We do need to recognize that only one of the four types of soil was capable of bringing forth a harvest. The soil represents the heart of man and thus Jesus shares with us that we have a responsibility to seek God’s help and keep our heart right before him.
1. The soil on the path has been trampled on and is very hard. This represents the hard hearted person who happens to hear the word of God but places no value on the word and thus Satan steals it right out of their heart.
2. The soil with the rocks represents the person who has a desire to be saved, filled with the Spirit, healed, protected, delivered and immediately receives the word with gladness. The word begins to grow but when Satan brings trouble and persecution they give up and quit because they are not rooted and grounded in the truth. This person initially wanted to walk with God and enjoy the blessings of God but decided that it was too hard to do what God asked them to do to become rooted and grounded in His word.
3. The third type of soil represents the person who allows the thorns to take over their life. Mark 4:19 And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word and it becometh unfruitful.
4. Jesus said there is a good soil which represents the person who contended for the faith, and refused to be sidetracked by the devil’s tricks. Luke 8:15 But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.
Dr. Luke packed this verse with revelation concerning attributes of a heart that pleases God. Honesty and truthfulness are big with God. Jesus said I am the truth! The Holy Spirit is also called the Spirit of Truth! God will work with those who get honest with Him. Remember, it was the publican rather than the Pharisee who received forgiveness for their sin. Luke 18:14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. An honest and good hearted person hears God’s word and does what it says. God says that the person who loves Him is the one who keeps His word! The patience part is staying with what God has said, being constant and persistent in obeying all that God has said because then the harvest is a sure thing. We have the ability to see people’s actions and hear their words but God looks on the heart. 1 Sam. 16:7 NLT But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” Thank God that salvation is offered to every man, woman, boy, and girl on a gift basis and must be received through faith. No one will be able to stand before the Lord and say that they were unable to attain eternal life, baptism in the Holy Spirit, healing, deliverance, or protection because everyone can believe from their heart. It is with the heart that man believes unto righteousness and with the mouth that confession is made unto salvation. God is a faith God and everything He offers us must be received through faith. Jesus responded to the Pharisees who demanded that Jesus tell them when the kingdom of God would appear. Luke 17:20&21 . . . The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you. Everyone who desires to please God must learn to live by faith because the condition of the heart is not immediately visible on the outside. Sometimes those who are genuinely believing God are thought to be arrogant and those who are thinking they are humble are proud.
(Eliab accused David of being proud when in reality God had looked on Eliabs heart and rejected him.)
When we believed the gospel and received Jesus as our Lord we became righteous through faith in God! We had not become righteous because of our works but rather God counted us righteous because we are now in Christ. God made Jesus who knew no sin to become sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in Christ. (see 2 Cor. 5:21) After we are born again God expects us to renew our thinking and our actions to how things are done in the kingdom of God. Simon the sorcerer believed Philip’s preaching concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ and was baptized. A very short time later he had reverted to his old ways of wanting to be great in the eyes of men and tried to purchase the gift of laying on of hands that God had endowed Peter and John with. Ministry gifts are given to those who are called into ministry to bless the body of Christ, not for you to be a big shot. Peter said, repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee. For I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity. Repentance is God’s gift to those who have received something bad into their heart! Jesus referred to the person who
Repentance is a precious gift from God!
allows the lusts of other things into their heart as letting thorns choke out the word of God thus stopping the maturation process which means no harvest. Guarding our heart from evil is a must do for every soldier in God’s army who plans to win. Pro. 4:23 AMPC Keep and guard your heart with all vigilance and above all that you guard, for out of it flow the springs of life. The scriptures speak of many evils that will contaminate our born again spirit if allowed to enter. Worry and fear are very toxic and must not to be allowed into our mind or heart. James tells us that envying and strife brings confusion and every evil work. God calls His people, who love this world more than following His instructions, adulterers and adulteresses. God resists the proud and covetous person while the humble receive more grace. James 4:8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. I have noticed that Mark only mentions the sin of unforgiveness with Jesus teaching on how to remove mountains out of your way. Our new commandment is to love one another as Jesus has loved us. When we refuse to extend the same grace of forgiveness to others that we have received from the Lord, it indicates that our heart has become proud. All sins are manifestations of unbelief and God calls unbelief wicked and evil. Heb. 3:12 Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.
The gospel is good news and we are the beneficiaries of The heavenly Father sending us His word! Jesus is the living word and He only spoke the Father’s words. In receiving Jesus, we received the incorruptible, all powerful, never failing, eternal word of God into our hearts. Jesus has been sent to all people and all people make their choice to receive Jesus or to reject him. The great news is that the condition of our heart can change and we are the ones who choose to humble ourselves and submit to God or stiffen our neck in pride and rebellion like the devil. 1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. This work of cleansing from sin and making us righteous is God’s work with us asking and believing Him. The prophet speaks of those who are willing and obedient eating the good of the land. There is a washing of the water of the word which takes place as we submit ourselves to hear the anointed word of God! There is a work of our continually hearing and hearing and studying God’s word that will get us rooted and grounded in God. We labor to enter into that place of faith and then we maintain that faith in God. Phi. 1:27 WNT Only let the lives you live be worthy of the Good News of the Christ, in order that, whether I come and see you or, being absent, only hear of you, I may know that you are standing fast in one spirit and with one mind, fighting shoulder to shoulder for the faith of the Good News. 1 Tim. 1:5 NLT The purpose of my instruction is that all believers would be filled with love that comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and genuine faith. Hold on to faith and a good conscience so as not to shipwreck your faith! The Holy Spirit is our Helper and not the condemner. If your heart is condemning you, you need to repent and make the corrections that God requires. Pray and ask God to forgive you and commit to doing right! Do it now! God is for you and we are for you! May you be one who brings forth fruit and pleases God and receives that crown of righteousness! If you are in need of further help in how to move forward in obedience to God, contact your pastor because he has been ordained by God to help you be successful in this life.
