The Soil of the Kingdom

In Ephesians 1, we are told that we have been given the Holy Spirit as a pledge of our inheritance.  In essence the seed of Heaven has been invested in us in the person of the Holy Spirit.  That investment grows in us as we cultivate an atmosphere within is us that will allow it to grow.  That atmosphere is cultivated through belief.  The word believe in the greek, means “to allow”.  It implies that I am taking an attitude of vulnerability, I am allowing myself to be influenced by the Spirit. 

Hosea 10:12

Sow with a view to righteousness,

Reap in accordance with kindness;

Break up your fallow ground,

For it is time to seek the LORD

Until He comes to rain righteousness on you.

In Matthew 13 Jesus taught us about the power of influence.  He related it to our ability to receive the kingdom.  Jesus used 4 types of soil to describe which conditions were right for the seed of the Kingdom to take root.  As the sower sowed his seed some of it fell on the side of the road.  This seed was quickly eaten by the birds.  This represents soil that is not prepared to receive the seed.  It represents a person who hears the word but isn’t prepared to receive it and before it can have effect the enemy steals it.  I also believe that this soil represents areas in our hearts that have not yet come under the influence of the truth that’s within us.  I see what I’m prepared to see and in this case I’m not yet prepared to see this particular truth grow in my life.  Unfortunately, in this case my perspective is blinded by truth that is being stolen from me.  This is where I embrace what is familiar instead of what can transform me because I don’t believe I can change.  The enemy will continually steal life lines that get thrown to me because he knows that if I embrace truth in this area I will become transformed.  Another danger with this type of soil is that we hear truth and we actually begin to think that we know truth because we’ve heard it before.  We believe we know it because it sounds familiar but the reality of that truth isn’t evidenced in our lives.  This is very dangerous because it has the affect of creating a callous on our spirit not realizing that our spirit actually needs to allow itself to be influenced by His Spirit within me.  The Holy Spirit is not only in me, He is with me.  This is an important aspect because as I learn to walk with Him I allow myself to be influenced by Him.  If I don’t allow this reality I will only be content with Him being in me.  I’ll live with the belief that having him in me is enough for me to change.  If I want to change I have to be teachable, otherwise I’m believing lies. 

Jesus then talks about seed that is thrown in rocky places.  It immediately grows but that growth cannot be sustained because there is no depth of soil.  As new believers we get so excited about our new found faith and it is typical for us to have a quick growth spurt.  After awhile that fire seems to die down a little and in some cases a lot.  In this scenario we ride a lot on emotion and experience.  While neither emotion or experience are bad things we have to rely on more than just those things.  Faith operates out of the unseen realm.  If I’m only allowing myself to grow on the basis of what God does for me, when I have difficulties, I will blame him for what is happening to me because I’ve only known his influence in places that I’ve had breakthrough.  I’ve never allowed him to influence me in the process of adversity.  Often our friendships grow as we go through difficulties or challenges together.  When we make it through these circumstances our friendships are stronger because of what we have survived together.  It’s no different in our relationship with God.  As we learn to praise him, thank him, glorify him and walk with him in the hard places our bond will grow.  In our weakness, His strength begins to be revealed in us.  We need the soil of our heart to be receptive to the seed He sows in us by cultivating a lifestyle of belief. 

The seed that fell among thorns was choked out by worry and fear.  Fear destroys faith because it drives out love.  Fear causes the word in our lives to become unfruitful.  It causes us to live in doubt that God can actually do what he says.  It actually causes us to protect ourselves from the very solutions we carry.  Fear is a cancer that causes our minds to attack our own belief system.  Fear causes me to forget that I am a new creation and that my mind is being renewed to prove that God is real.  Fear is destructive.  This soil traps the fruitfulness of the seed that is within me and never allows it to grow.  It keeps everything locked out including love which is the only antidote to fear.  You were designed to receive love, the thorns need to be destroyed so that you can receive love and defeat fear.  Perfect Love casts out every fear.

The good soil represents the areas of our heart that have been yielded entirely to him.  Often these areas have been cultivated by creating history with God.  We’ve experienced his breakthrough in this area and we known his character.  If we know his character we will know his ways.  If we trust His intentions we’ll be able to endure His intensity.  These are areas that we have broken up fallow ground and embraced our position of righteousness. 

That’s the View from Here…