More Fruitful Life

The longer the root of Commitment, 

the greater the Sacrifice of Self-will,

the stronger and more Fruitful the Life.

Matthew 13:19-23

19 When any one heareth theword 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. 20 But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it; 21 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 . 22 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. 23 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.

When we want to study God's Word to fully understand it and be able to apply it to our lives, we need to first: hold it in our hands, close our eyes and ask God to show us what He wants us to hear and understand as we read our Bible. Otherwise, we will get nothing out of it. 

It is not enough to be able to read the Bible all the way through in one year. It is not sufficient to read different translations to try to understand our Bible. Those translations are man-made and inefficient. Only God can reveal Himself in His Word. That is one of the reasons He sent the Holy Spirit here: to reveal God to us. If God were to meet us face to face, many would die in their sins, as sin cannot be in God's presence and live. We need the Holy Spirit.

Oh, Lord, as I begin this study, reveal in me and through me, what You want us to understand today. Make plain Your wisdom in these verses. Amen.

Farming is fast becoming a lost art. Many of us live in cities and towns, instead of on a few acres, which is required for your basic farmer. This parable which Jesus teaches is about a sower, a farmer; and the seeds he plants. Not all of his seeds land in the field.

v19. Seed by the wayside. We can sit in church and listen to the sermon being preached. But if we don't hear the Word being spoken, then the message we are listening to gets thrown away. Many times we are unable to hear the Word given because the devil distracts us: what will I have for lunch after church? I hope the dog/cat doesn't make a mess before I get home. My kids better be good in Sunday School. That hat she is wearing doesn't become her at all. Why are his clothes wrinkled? Don't I smell lovely?  And such foolishness along these lines prevent the Word from getting into our hearts. 

v20-21. Seed into stony places. The Word of God is heard but not taken to heart. The person hearing it is joyful to receive it, but does not take the time to take care of the Word. He/She takes on the appearance of Christianity but is not truly Christian. When troubles come along, that person is offended and may, in all likelihood, lash out or seek revenge. The Word of God never reached the heart, only the ears.

v22. Seed among the thorns. The Word of God is heard but not applied. Here, too, the Word of God never reaches the heart. God's Word was heard by the ears. But the eyes prevented it from reaching its destination. We get caught up in the cares of this world: life-bills to pay, living to earn, kids to feed, mortgage to pay. We get hooked on riches: gotta buy this and gotta buy that, keeping up with the Joneses, "if i were rich". And so, the Word of God, which we have heard, is choked and unfruitful in our lives.

The farmer tosses one handful of seed at a time. Some here, some there. It is where the seed lands that determines its growth. The field is not just an open grass land. It has been prepared for the seed. The land is tilled, dug up and plowed under, creating an open ground to receive the seed. It is fertilized, usually with manure, to give the seed strength to grow. And after the field is seeded, the farmer tends it to keep it growing: water when needed, pulling out weeds, preventing animals from eating it up. 

v23. Seed into the good ground. The Word of God is heard and understood. Because it has fallen on fertile ground. The heart of this person is ready to receive the Word into it. And the seed flourishes, the Word takes root and begins to stretch out inside this person. Soon, the Word of God, the seed into good ground, reaches out beyond the heart into the mouth where the Word of God is shared with another person. And another. And another. And that person shares the Word, the seed, with even more people. And so, the seed is fruitful. 

We may never know until we reach heaven just how many people we have impacted by our faithfulness in hearing, receiving, reading and understanding the Word of God for ourselves. Until then, I pray God gives you the desire to be Seed Into Good Ground. 

How is better than Why

The manner in which one endures 
                                                has a greater impact 
                                          than that which one has to endure.




I would rather rejoice over being chosen to walk this road

than complain , "Why me?"  .

When God calls us to service, He doesn't call us to paved roads and fine houses. Those things are our rewards in heaven: golden streets and beautiful mansions built by the Master Carpenter.

Instead God calls us to serve others. And He takes us out of our comfort zones to do it. 

All of Jesus' disciples were working men. Of the first 12, some were fishermen. One collected taxes. One was a doctor. He did not call them to serve in the fields they had trained in. He called them to serve in His fields, doing His work. Matthew 10:6-8.

But the skills they had learned in their various trades, they were able to apply working in God's fields. He told the ones who fished that they would be "fishers of men". The doctor learned to heal the sick with the power and authority of Christ, not with the learned knowledge he had already acquired. He sent them without money, papers or supplies into the surrounding cities and communities. They learned what it means to exercise your faith. 

Their personal principles came with them:

1. Obey the teacher, the master. Apprenticeship requires self-discipline.

2. Finish the work started. A job half-done is not done at all.

3. Apply yourself. Put your heart into it and your work will be recognized.

I have been called out of my comfort zone. I was trained by my parents to lead a good life. I was trained by my teachers to be a secretary (when I was in high school, they still had us studying gender specific skills). I was trained by my colleagues to be a good pharmacy technician. I ignored the good life and settled for less. I sucked at secretarial skills, but excelled at writing. I was a pretty good pharmacy tech for a few years. But then I got sick. And I hadn't been trained for that.

I have learned to exercise my faith. I have little to no money of my own now (soc. sec. dis.). I stutter when I have been speaking for more than a few minutes. And just speaking clearly is difficult (even people who know me make me repeat myself and I hate that). I am a licensed minister, but not an ordained one. My schooling was done through Pentecostal Church of God. My training is on-going. The self-discipline of living my life is now coming back around again. 

Nobody is ever ready to suffer a major tragedy or lose their job because of a major illness. I am no exception. But when God calls us to service, He qualifies the unqualified. That's part of His job.

This is mine.

Crown Him with Many Crowns

CROWN HIM with MANY CROWNS

CROWN of LIFE

Revelation 2:10  Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer : behold , the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried ; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.

James 1:12  Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried , he shall receive the crown of life, which The Lord hath promised to them that love Him. 

2 Timothy 2;12  If we suffer , we shall also reign with Him: if we deny Him, He also will deny us:

CROWN of LOVING-KINDNESS

Psalm 103:4 Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with loving-kindness and tender mercies;

Psalm 63:3 Because thy loving kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish , but have everlasting life.

Hosea 2:19 And I will betroth thee unto me for ever; yea, I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in loving-kindness, and in mercies.

Jeremiah 32:17-19 Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee:Thou shewest loving-kindness unto thousands, and recompensest the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them: the Great, the Mighty God, the LORD of hosts, is his name, Great in counsel, and mighty in work: for thine eyes are open upon all the ways of the sons of men: to give every one according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings:

CROWN of GLORY & HONOR

Psalm 8:4,5  What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?  For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honor.

CROWN of ANOINTING OIL

Leviticus 21:12  Neither shall he go out of the sanctuary, nor profane the sanctuary of his God; for the crown of the anointing oil of his God is upon him: I am the LORD. (regarding the high priest)

CROWN of KNOWLEDGE

Proverbs 14:18 The simple inherit folly: but the prudent are crowned with knowledge. (all of Proverbs is a discourse on wisdom, defining what is wise and what is foolish. Prudent means "mentally putting together". [love that], which is the definition of learning. Therefore, the prudent person is the one who learns wisdom and puts it into action)

CROWN of RIGHTEOUSNESS

2 Timothy 4:8  Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which The Lord, The Righteous Judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love His appearing.

CROWN of ROYALTY (Grace & Favor)

Esther 2:17  And the king loved Esther above all the women, and she obtained grace and favor in his sight more than all the virgins; so that he set the royal crown upon her head, and made her queen instead of Vashti. 

CROWN of GLORY (the LORD IS)

Isaiah 28:5  In that day shall The LORD of hosts be for a Crown of Glory, and for a Diadem of Beauty, unto the residue of his people. (The Lord is our Crown of Glory. How cool is that?)

CROWN of SOUL WINNER

Philippians 4:1 Therefore, my brethren dearly beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved.

Proverbs 11:30  The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise.

("dearly" implies at great cost) Jude 3 says we are to 'earnestly contend' Ephesians 6:12 we 'wrestle against' 

We are not passive Christians. We are fighters. We fight for the salvation of  our families and friends. They are our crown, also. Our knees bow only to The Most High God and none other. We fight our battles on our knees with our hands clenched in prayer; our hearts are set on the deliverance of our moms and dads, sisters and brothers; strangers, friends and enemies. We are immovable in our desire to see the Salvation of the Lord reach those who are lost and wandering in the darkness of sin. And we encourage each other in this goal. 

At great cost. What is it worth to you to see someone saved? It cost Jesus His will and His life. He surrendered His will and His life, that we might have salvation. How much are you willing to give up? With Jesus it was 

                                                           ALL OR NOTHING

                    

How to Pray

How To Pray

• Be spontaneous
• Be specific
• Ask the right way
• Pray with all your heart
• Pray continually

     Do you want your friends to practice conversations with you before you actually speak with each other? No? Then why would you do that when you speak with God?

     Clarify what or who you are asking God to do. If someone asks you for help and does not specify what they need help with, are you more or less likely to help them? 

     How would you respond to inbox messages that are demanding? Is insincere flattery going to cause you to respond quicker or slower or will you just ignore the question? God desires sincerity in prayers.

      Mean what you say when you say it to Him, but also make sure your heart is in the right place.

Repent of any sins you've committed, ask God's forgiveness and make a commitment to be more faithful in your testimony. In Isaiah 1:16 and 18 16 Wash you, make you clean ; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil ; 18 Come now , and let us reason together , saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. we are shown how to do this. 

     It is entirely possible to pray throughout our days and our nights. We start our day with a thankful heart that God has given us another day. The Holy Spirit reminds us to be watchful and so we pray for someone's illness, someone's desire to grow closer to God, someone's request for salvation and so on, and so on, throughout our day. Everyone has a need and there is never enough time to pray for individuals, so we group our requests. 

  

    I have a small square box on my desk. It is about 6-inches in diameter, is pink, and has images of perfume bottles on it. This is my prayer box. The Word of God says our prayers are as perfume to God, so I think this box is totally appropriate. In my prayer box, are lists of names, wallet size photos and requests. I have had it for several years now and it is not even full. I never empty it. I may not know until I get to heaven just how my prayers have impacted the people I pray for. Sometimes I just ask God to meet the needs of those people in my prayer box. I just lift up the box in prayer. There are hundreds of requests and I would not be able to list them all in prayer on an individual basis. Because the box sits on my desk in plain sight, I am able to lift them all up several times a day. And it is good.

     God is good. God is able. God is. 

     

     

     

Cistern vs. Fountain

A man I deeply admire and respect, and yes, even love, went home to be with our Lord and Savior a few years back. But before God called him home, I was privileged to hear one of the last sermons he preached. And after re-studying it just now, I would like to share it with you here.

Cistern vs. Fountain

June 16, 2002

PM Service Rev. Barker, Full Gospel Ministry

[first we came together in prayer, in Scripture (Matthew 18:19 "Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of My Father which is in heaven"), and agreed that God's will be done concerning the pastorate at River of Life (the church I attended where his daughter and son-in-law then pastored]

     Jeremiah 2:13 "For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters,and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water." The clearest example is pictured in this verse. A fountain is filled from the deep and below. A cistern is built and holds only what is put into it. For instance, the woman at the well filled Jesus' request for water. John 4:6,7 Yet Jesus offered her water which would quench her thirst forever John 4:9-14

6 Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well:and it was about the sixth hour. 7 There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saithunto her, Give me to drink   9 Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me,which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. 10 Jesusanswered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Giveme to drink ; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. 11 Thewoman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence thenhast thou that living water? 12 Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, anddrank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle? 13 Jesus answered and said unto her,Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: 14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that Ishall give him shall never thirst ; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of waterspringing up into everlasting life.

     Luke 24:13-21 The Road to Emmaus. 13 And, behold , two of them went that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem about threescore furlongs. 14 And they talked together of all these things which had happened . 15 And it came to pass , that, while they communed together and reasoned , Jesus himself drew near , and went with them. 16 But their eyes were holden that they should not know him. 17 And he said unto them, What manner of communications are these that ye have one to another, as ye walk , and are sad? 18 And the one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answering said unto him, Art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem, and hast not known the things which are come to pass there in these days? 19 And he said unto them, What things? And they said unto him, Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people: 20 And how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death, and have crucified him. 21 But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel: and beside all this, to day is the third day since these things were done. These followers had become cisterns. They knew only the teachings which Jesus had put into them. At His death, they turned away to unbelief.

     Galatians 1:6, 7 6 I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: 7 Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert thegospel of Christ. An attempt at building cisterns. Turning away from the Gospel of Salvation through the blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ will create a broken cistern. It will hold nothing.

     John 7:38 38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said , out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. Rivers of living water flow out of the belly, which is deep within or below the heart. For what is in the heart will come out of the mouth. What is in the belly will come out in your life. Through your stomach you receive nourishment, that your body might be made strong and do the works that God has given you to do. 

     The choice is yours: Do you want to be a cistern? Or do you want to be a fountain?




*the reason Brother Barker chose Matthew 18:19 to pray together with is because he and I were the only two people who came to church that night. I think the pastor and family were on vacation that night. Perhaps other congregants believe there to be no church that evening. I am so glad I was there.*