Somewhere in the Patch of Weeds There’s Something God Wants to Harvest
By Rev James May
Romans 11:33, "O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!"
A lot of people are in the process of growing and harvesting a vegetable garden at this time of the year. Of course none of the fruits of their labor would have ever been realized without laying a lot of groundwork in the weeks and months preceding the harvest. The planning stage came first, then the ground-breaking and shaping of the rows or the beds where the seed would be planted. Then the seed for the beans, peas, cucumbers or whatever the gardener wanted, and the seedling tomato or pepper plants had to be obtained and then all of it had to be planted at the just right time, in the right kind of soil, and with tender-loving care; watered and fertilized to make it all grow.
There was no visible change in the garden for quite some time. Then little by little changes began to occur. The seedling plants began to grow larger and taller. The seed that was buried just below the surface began to burst through very slowly, then suddenly, you walk out to look at the garden and all along the row there is a thin line of green plants beginning to grow.
It gives the gardener great satisfaction to know that after all of the planning and hard work of preparing the ground; and all of the time and expense invested, that there is a harvest on the way. All of his hard labor has not been in vain.
But right along with those little seedling plants and seeds of peas, beans and food crops that were planted that break through the ground; something else begins to grow too. It’s those pesky weeds. No farmer in Louisiana has ever grown a garden that didn’t have the problem of weeds that grew even faster and better than the food crops. Weeds can choke out the plant that we really want. Weeds can steal the water and the nutrients in the ground to the point that the plants the gardener really wants to grow with wither and die. It’s a never ending battle that plays out in every gardener’s life. The constant fight to keep the weeds under control while helping the desired plants to grow and produce fruit.
This scenario is one of the most easily understood when it comes to comparing the growth of the Word of God and the ability of the Holy Spirit to be within the heart of a Christian, giving them the ability to grow in Christ. It’s always a battle to keep the “spiritual weeds” down while allowing the “spiritual crop” to grow in our hearts. It’s a constant battle, one that never ends for as long as we live. Every day there is a new crop of weeds to weed out and keep under control while we are trying to become more like Jesus.
The most well-known parables that deals with this idea is the Parable of the Sower found in Luke Chapter 8.
Luke 8:5 A sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the way side; and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it.
Luke 8:6 And some fell upon a rock; and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away, because it lacked moisture.
Luke 8:7 And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprang up with it, and choked it.
Luke 8:8 And other fell on good ground, and sprang up, and bear fruit an hundredfold. And when he had said these things, he cried, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.
Looking out over this congregation this morning, I see a lot of ground where the Holy Spirit is trying to sow the seed of the gospel that is meant to bring forth a great spiritual crop. What He desires from the seed that is sown, is that each of us will produce much fruit for the use of the Father in Heaven in strengthening and building His kingdom in the earth.
But whether that seed of the gospel takes root and grows will depend greatly upon how much the fallow ground of our hearts has been broken up and prepared to receive the seed; and how much we are willing to do to water, feed and care for the seed that is planted within us.
Whether you realize it or not, the seed is being sown in your heart right now. Every time we come together in the Lord’s house, and every time we get around one another and just talk about the Jesus and His Word; and every time you watch a minister on the TV, or listen on the radio, or hear a gospel song; the seed is being sown. God is constantly broadcasting the seed of the gospel so that the hearts of all men might receive that planting and become a part of the garden of God to bring forth righteousness in the earth.
A crop is going to arise from your heart and life, but the kind of crop you’ll bear will depend upon what you do with the seed that has been sown. There’s never anything wrong with the seed. The seed is always perfect.
Deuteronomy 32:4, "He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he."
2 Samuel 22:31, "As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all them that trust in him."
Psalms 19:7 The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.
Psalms 19:8 The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.
Psalms 19:9 The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.
The Word that God speaks is perfect in every way. We can’t argue that what we have received is right if it is founded upon the Word of God. We can sometimes claim that we have been given some bad seed; that we have been taught error; that we have learned things that aren’t really true; that some preacher deceived us; or someone pulled the wool over our eyes and led us down the wrong path; but the problem is never a bad seed from God’s Word. The problem is that either the seed we were given wasn’t based upon God’s Word at all, but came from the sinful heart of a man trying to play God and manipulate your life; or the ground of our hearts was not prepared to receive the seed rightly and we allowed our own corrupt nature to destroy the effectiveness of the seed within us.
Let’s look at how Jesus explained the idea of “bad seed” in the hearts of men.
Luke 8:11 Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.
Luke 8:12 Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.
Luke 8:13 They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away.
Luke 8:14 And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection.
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.
Where do you fit in this parable? Every one of us fits in here somewhere; but I wonder where? Are we found on the wayside; outside of the area where the ground has been broken up and prepared to receive the seed? Are we still so in love with the things of this world; and so caught up in creating a lifestyle that we have not taken the time to even begin plowing the ground of our hearts? Are our hearts so hard that the seed of God’s Word can’t break through? I really believe this happens a lot more often that we would want to admit; even to people who do love God. We all have those moments of hardness when we aren’t quite prepared to accept the seed that God is trying to plant within us!
Perhaps you’re in this service right now, but you have already zoned out! Your heart is fixed, not upon the seed being sown, but upon what you are going to do tomorrow; what you did yesterday, or where are we going to lunch. Even though you might love God, if your heart is set on things other than receiving the seed, then the seed sown will have little chance to grow in you.
Someone may be sitting here right now and your thoughts are, “Oh no, not another sermon on the Parable of the Sower! I’ve heard that and read that so many times that I’ve lost count. Why don’t we hear something new and different for a change?”
Let me ask you a question. Why would God want to sow any more seed into your heart, if you won’t take the seed He’s giving right now? How can he grow a stronger, more dedicated crop in your heart, if you can’t even take the simple seed he’s already given?
Preacher, I don’t want to hear about sowing the seed and plowing my heart. I want God to plant a new revelation seed in me. I want to see something I’ve never seen; hear something I’ve never heard; feel something I’ve never felt. I want something greater! Don’t give me the peanut seed! Nobody can see the fruit that I bear inside my heart. I want something grand and beautiful. Give me some Sugar Cane seed or maybe a Corn seed so that others can see something great in me!
My friend if you don’t allow the simple seed to grow and produce fruit that gives God glory without giving the glory to you, then don’t expect God to grow something in you that you can take personal pride in producing. God won’t share his glory with anyone!
We sit in church week after week, service after service, hearing the Word of God and the seed is sown. Every seed that God has for your life is cast into your heart. It’s not that God keeps from you all of the best things in life. It’s all there! God has already done the work and paid for it all! There’s nothing impossible for your life from God’s point of view. The seeds of greatness are already sown. The seeds of the deeper knowledge of God; the seeds of a greater revelation of who God is; the seeds of a greater love for Jesus; the seeds of understanding all of the deep things of God are already sown in your heart. It’s already there.
The question is, “Is your heart ready to receive it, nurture it, and let that seed grow into full fruition?” Is your heart broken up enough, is that pride in your heart ground down to a fine powder of fertile ground where it’s easy for the seed to grow; or it is still old hard clay that is focused only the world around you. Is that selfish ground in your heart plowed deep enough and broken enough to the receive the seed and allow it to grow, or are you still so caught up in what You want; what You believe; what You need; what You love, more than what God wants the seed to produce? It’s not about me! It’s not about you! It’s about what God wants!
The scripture says that when the seed is sown, there are times when the devil comes along and snatches it right out of our hearts. How does he do that?
When the preacher gives the sermon do you pay attention or daydream the whole time? If you daydream, the devil just stole that seed from you!
When the Word is sown, are you texting on the phone, do you have headphones in your ear listening to music, are you talking with your neighbor, are you reading something you find more interesting, are you half asleep? All of these and so much more are nothing more than tricks of the devil to steal the seed right out of your heart. I see it happening week after week and then after months have passed, we have not produced fruit, we have not grown in the Lord, we wonder why. The answer is that the seed was stolen. We allowed the devil to pluck it right out of our hearts. Without the seed, nothing changes. Without allowing that seed to take root and grow, we will just continue to live a life that bears no fruit for the Lord. We might appear to be living for God, but all we have to show for a life that is supposed to be sold out to Jesus, are experiences from the past, because no fresh fruit has been produced in us.
We may have plowed the unbroken ground of our hearts at one time. At that time we were hungry, anxious, almost impatient, desiring to see what God had to say and seeking for more and more seed to be sown in us. But that excitement is gone now! That love for the Word and for God has waned and now the heart is become hard again. We need to break up that fallow ground again! Set the gospel plow to work in us again and prepare our hearts to receive all that God has for us.
It’s not only the unsaved who can lose that seed of the gospel because of their hard hearts. Christians can miss some of the greatest blessings that God has for us because we can develop a hard heart as well.
Some of us can be found in the wayside, sitting way off on the side of what God is doing, just watching. We aren’t involved, just sitting on the wayside wondering why God doesn’t plant a seed in us that will make us move. God can’t plant seed in a heart that is sitting by without a care for what He is doing in the midst of his church. Break up that fallow ground; get off the “headland” into the plowed row, then the seed might have a chance to grow in you.
Some of us are found in the stony ground. We’ve finally allowed our hearts to be broken to the point that some of the seed of the gospel is beginning to grow. But we have to be very careful that everything God tries to plant in us is received.
What is meant by that stony ground in the hearts of those who are supposed to be Christians?
There are a lot of people in the church today that won’t hear all the truth. They have selective hearing; hearing and believing only what makes them feel good about themselves; choosing only to listen to the seed that is encouraging, easy to swallow and never brings conviction upon them for sin in their hearts. These folks are living on the stony ground; partly broken to receive some of the seed, but as hard as stone against receiving the whole truth.
All of God’s Word is perfect! Not just the part we want to hear! When Jesus was tempted by the devil in the wilderness, Satan tempted Jesus to make stones into bread, thus satisfying the desires of the flesh, but not continuing to fulfill the fullness of the plan of God. “Have a little comfort; you don’t have to go all the way to the cross. Just do enough to bet by. Nobody would expect you to die for them. They wouldn’t die for you. Just enjoy the journey while you can.” That is all wrapped up in this one temptation of Christ. By yielding to this one temptation, Satan could have utterly destroyed the plan of God for the salvation of all mankind.
Matthew 4:4, "But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God."
There are a lot of “Thorny Christians” around too. You can find them everywhere you look.
Thorny Christians don’t want you to preach anything about them. They want you to preach to the other people sitting around them. As long as you don’t speak to the problems in their lives, they are just as happy as they can be. But as soon as God begins to deal with their personal issues, they start getting agitated and ready to run and hide.
There are a lot of church hoppers in the modern church. In fact, it has been said that as much as 75% of “church growth” recorded today, comes not from new converts, but from people moving from church to church. Most churches have a marketing plan where we advertise in some way, all of the “ministries and programs” that we offer to attract people. But very few have an evangelism program for winning lost souls.
One church loses; while another gains. Who is considered the loser and who is considered the gainer depends upon your point of view. Sometimes losing a few thorny members will help a church to prosper; and all it takes is the introduction of a few thorny members to stop church growth altogether. But of course, the thorny Christian never considers that they are the problem. The problem, according to them, is that everybody else is wrong.
Thorny Christians are sometimes unpleasant to be around. The things they say and the way they say them just seems to stick real hard. You just have to get away from them because something about them just grates on your spirit and steals your peace.
The scripture we just read concerning the thorns shows us that it is often the cares and pleasures of this life that act as thorns to rise up and choke the seed of God’s word from our hearts. If you don’t think it’s a sticky thing to speak against the pleasures of this life, try telling someone that it’s more important to be in God’s house than at the football game, or on the lake fishing, or playing some sport, or anything that is fun and entertaining.
I believe that the greatest Idol that America has is not its money, but the fun and entertainment that the money can buy. We are a society caught up in worship of entertainment, whether it’s on the TV, in our music, on Facebook and the cell phones, computer games, or out on the playing fields of whatever sport you want to name, or tailgating at the park; it’s all about entertainment and having a good time.
Anytime a football quarterback can get a contract for $100 million to throw a football for 5 years, get paid $37 million just for signing the contract, and be guaranteed $67 million regardless of what happens during that 5 year contract period, we know that sports has become an idol.
Anytime a movie like “The Dark Knight Rises”, the newest Batman movie, can gross $30.6 in a single midnight showing across the nation; and when movies like The Twilight Saga and it’s three part series, and the three part Harry Potter series can each gross a combined earnings of nearly $90 million, there can be no denying that entertainment is our idol.
Perhaps that realization really bothers someone here today. Perhaps you never thought of those things being an idol. Perhaps you never considered that any of these things could keep the seed of the gospel from producing fruit in your life as God would have it to do. Maybe it bothers you that we even talk about these things. In that case, my friend, you may feel free to put yourself in the category of a thorny Christian because your heart just isn’t completely ready to hear the truth yet.
None of us are perfect, we can all become part of that hard ground, that stony ground or that thorny ground at times, but what we must strive for is to become that “good ground”.
Becoming the “Good Ground” requires quality decision, hard work and complete dedication and commitment to becoming all that we can be in Christ.
We must ever be ready to hear and to receive the seed of God’s Word that is broadcast and planted into our hearts. We must be prepared to give that seed every opportunity to grow and produce the fruit in our lives that God desires of us. We must hear the Word, keep the Word, and be patient in allowing God to bring it forth in our hearts until we bear fruit for the Kingdom of God.
No matter where you are right now; no matter what condition your heart is in; we must be ever working to plow up our own hearts and be ready for God to plant his seed in our lives. We must maintain and attitude of repentance for sin; of hunger for the Word of God; of excitement for the House of God; of desiring to do a work for him. Plow up that follow ground of your heart and prepare yourself for receiving what God would put into your heart, then nurture that seed and watch it grow.
The most satisfying time for the gardener is when the crops have grown, the plants are fully matured and he can start picking the fruit and enjoying it.
So many Christians today never experience that tremendous joy and satisfaction of seeing the fruits of their labor through the salvation of souls and watching the blessings of God being fulfilled in the lives of those around them. We can never fully appreciate the fruits of our labor until we have put our all into preparing the heart to receive all that God has for us.
Somewhere in that heart of every Christian, even though there’s sometimes little that can be seen right other than a good Patch of Weeds, There’s Something Good growing; something that will taste sweet in the end. But we have to pull the weeds, fertilize the seed, water the ground and keep our hearts always ready for the seed to grow. God wants to bring forth a harvest from your life, but we have to keep our hearts ready all the time so that harvest may come.
Maybe it’s a weed of a bad attitude! Maybe it’s a weed of a sharp tongue! Maybe it’s a weed of murmuring and complaining! Maybe it’s a weed of not repenting of some secret sin! Maybe it’s a weed of a judgmental spirit! Maybe it’s a weed of spiritual immaturity! Maybe it’s a weed of selfishness and pride; or maybe it’s a weed of impatience, anger, not forgiving ourselves or others! Maybe it’s a weed called greed or jealousy! Maybe it’s a weed of loving the things of the world more than the things of God!
Whatever the weed is; it has to be plucked up and cast aside or it will choke out the seed that God has planted.
Let’s get rid of the weeds and let the real crop grow that we may be profitable and pleasing servants to our God!
AMEN
